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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 
COMMODORE  BYRON  MCCANDLESS 


RE-DEDICATION 


OLD    STATE    HOUSE. 


RE-DEDIC.ATION 


OLD  STATE  HOUSE 


BOSTON, 


JULY    11,   1882. 


Boston: 

PRINTED    BY    ORDER    OF    THE    CITY    COUNCIL 

1882. 


CITY    OF    BOSTON, 


In  Board  of  Aldermen,  July  17,  1882. 

Ordered,  That  an  account  of  tlio  proceedings  attending  the  re-dedication 
of  the  Old  State  House  be  prepared  by  the  Clerk  of  Committees,  under 
the  direction  of  the  Committee  on  Printing,  and  that  fifteen  hundred 
copies  thereof  be  printed ;  the  expense  to  be  charged  to  the  appropriation 
for  Printing. 

Passed  in  Common  Council.  Came  up  for  concurrence.  Read  and 
concurred.     Approved   by    the    Mayor,    July    18,    1882. 


73.8 


CONTENTS 


Preliminary  Note 

Proceedings  at  Re-dedication 

Remarks  of  Alderman  Charles  II.  Herscy 
Prayer        ...... 

.        Oration        ...... 

Remarks  of  Mayor  Samuel  \.  Green 
Remarks  of  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wikler 
Letter  from  Gov.  John  D.  Long 
Letter  from  Com.  0.  C.  Badger 


Appendix  :  — 

A.  Papers  relative  to  Town  House  of  IG, 

B.  Papers  relative  to  rebuilding  in  1711 

C.  Papers  relative  to  Fire  in  1747    . 
T).    Note  rel.ative  to  the  Lion  and  Unicorn 

E.  Note  relative  to  Faneuil  Hall 

F.  Note  relative  to  Old  City  Hall,  Schoo: 

G.  Report  of  City  Areliiteet 
H.    Financial  E.vhibit 
I.      Extracts  from  the  Will  of  Captain  Robert  Keay 

Index  ........ 


street 


PAGE 

9 

17 

18 

19 

22 

115 

119 

121 

121 

125 
129 
134 
141 
144 
147 
153 
157 
163 
170 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTEATIONS. 


PAOE 

Old  State  House,  1882 Frontispiece 

Old  State  House,  Interior  Views,  1882 22 

*01d  State  House  in  1791 63 

*James  Otis 70 

State-street  Massacre 82 

♦Samuel  Adams 84 

*Josiali  Quincy,  Jr 87 

*Jolin  Hancock    .         .                  .     ' 88 

♦Thomas  Gushing,  Speaker,  1771 5*0 

*James  Bowdoin  .......•••■  94 

Old  State  House  in  1785 95 

Triumphal  Arch  at  the  Reception  of  Washington  in  1789    ...  96 
Fac-simile  of  Order  of  Procession,  in  Honor  of  Washington's  Visit  in 

1780 97 

*01d  State  House  in  1793 98 

♦Old  State  House  in  1801 101 

State  Street  and  Old  State  House  in  182G 103 

Old  State  House  in  1821,  by  Hales 103 

Old  State  House,  from  Pemberton  Hill,  Salmon's  View,  1829     .         .  104 

Old  State  House  in  1835,  1850,  1880 104 

Old  State  House  in  1830,  1835,  1838      .                 107 

Old  State  House  on  Fire  in  1832 108 

Old  State  House  in  187G,  showing  Mansard  Roof,  Signs,  etc.      .         .  110 

Paneuil  Hall  in  1789 146 

Faneuil  Hall  in  1826 147 

Court  House,  Boston,  erected  in  1811-12 148 

Diagrams  from  Maps  in  1800  and  1814^howing  Court  House      .         .  150 

Johnson  Hall,  Court  Square 151 

Court  House,  1851 151 

City  Hall,  1856 152 

Aruliitect's  Plan  Old  State  House 155 

*  From  the  Mcmurial  History  of  Boston,  by  permissiou. 


PEELIimAEY  NOTE. 


PRELIMmARY   NOTE. 


The  restoration  of  the  Old  State  House  is  an  event  of  which 
every  Bostonian  ma}'  well  be  proud.  The  history-  of  the 
buildinff  is  so  indissolublv  connected  with  the  most  stirrino; 
events  in  the  annals  of  the  city,  and  of  the  nation  also,  that  it 
is  a  source  of  peculiar  gratification  to  know  that  the  ancient 
edifice  has  been  saved  from  destruction,  and  will  bo  handed 
down  to  future  generations  in  a  form  substantially  the  same 
as  it  presented  when  within  its  venerable  walls  "the  child 
Independence  was  born." 

The  building  narrowly  escaped  destruction  in  1876.  In 
that  year  the  leases  expired  and  an  effort  was  made  to  remove 
it,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  an  obstruction  to  the  extension 
of  Devonshire  street.  The  subject  was  vigorously  discussed 
in  both  branches  of  the  City  Council,  and  resulted  in  a  com- 
promise, by  which  the  portico  on  the  easterly  end,  built  in 
1830,  was  removed,  and  the  space  that  it  occupied  thrown 
into  the  street.  The  building  was  then  re-leased  for  a  term 
of  five  years. 

At  the  termination  of  the  leases  in  1881,  the  question  arose 
as  to  whether  the  building  should  be  again  leased,  or  whether 
it  should  be  restored  to  its  original  condition  and  preserved 
for  public  purposes.'  The  latter  view  prevailed,  and  the 
result  is  commemorated  in  the  following  pages. 

1  Foi-  i-epoi-t  of  Hearings,  see  City  Document  71B,  1881. 


10  OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

The  history  of  the  GUI  State  House  is  so  completely  related 
ill  Mv.  "Whituiore's  oration  that  any  further  elal)oration  of 
the  subject  appears  superfluous ;  but,  inasmuch  as  attempts 
have  been  made  to  throw  discredit  upon  the  claims  of  the 
building  to  he  a  genuine  relic  of  revolutionary  and  jire- 
revolutionary  times,  a  few  words  on  that  point  may  not  be  out 
of  place. 

Throughout  all  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  the  Old 
State  House  has  preserved  its  original  form  more  closely 
than  any  other  of  the  historic  buildings  of  the  country.  The 
alterations  that  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  were  such 
as  did  not  aflect  the  construction  of  the  building  to  any  great 
extent,  and  the  material  in  it  to-day  is  mostly  that  which  was 
put  in  place  l)y  the  original  l)uilders.  The  work  of  restora- 
tion consisted  mainly  of  removing  the  additions  that  were 
made  when  the  building  was  titted  up  for  mercantile  uses. 
The  new  work  placed  in  the  building  consisted  principally  of 
interior  finish,  such  as  would  naturally  require  renewal  in 
course  of  time  from  the  wear  and  tear  incidental  to  buildings 
used  for  public  purposes.  » 

For  the  purpose  of  more  fully  illustrating  this  fact  it  has 
been  thought  desirable  to  present  several  reproductions  of 
old  prints  which  show  the  appearance  of  the  building  at 
difl[erent  times,  and  prove  that  the  exterior  form  of  the  old 
l)uilding  has  not  been  materialty  changed. 

The  first  view  is  that  given  in  Paul  Revere's  engraving  of  the 
Boston  massacre,  made  about  1770.  This  is  the  earliest  view 
extant,  and  is  particularly  interesting  from  the  fact  that  it  is 
the  only  one  which  shows  the  lion  and  the  unicorn.  The  view 
of  1785  is  taken  from  the  cover  of  the  "Boston  Magazine"  for 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  H 

July  of  that  year,  and  shows  a  flight  of  steps  leading  to  the 
east  door,  and  the  removal  of  the  lion  and  unicorn.  The 
fact  that  an  engraving  of  the  building  was  chosen  to  embellish 
the  title-page  of  a  popular  magazine  would  seem  to  show 
that  it  was  considered  of  considerable  importance  at  that 
time. 

The  view  of  1801  is  an  enOTaving  made  for  the  "Memorial 
History  of  Boston"  from  a  painting  Ity  J.  B.  iNIarston,  in  the 
possession  of  the  Historical  Society.  The  view  of  1821,  from 
Hales'  survey,  shows  the  flrst  extensive  alteration.  The 
steps  had  been  removed  and  a  large  window  substituted  for 
the   door  under  tiie  Ijalcoa}^ 

The  view  of  1821],  froiti  Snow"s  history,  shoM's  that  a 
clock  had  been  substituted  for  a  sun-dial.  Chimneys  also 
appear  for  the  first  time.  They  were  prol)aI)ly  Iniilt  when 
the  upper  portion  of  the  building  was  leased  to  the  ^Masonic 
order.  The  view  from  Snow's  geography,  of  1830,  shows 
the  alterations  made  when  the  building  was  fitted  up  for 
municipal  purposes.  The  upper  balcony  was  extended  across 
the  ])uilding,  and  was  supported  bj-  eight  heavy  colimins, 
arranged  in  pairs,  and  resting  upon  a  lower  balcony.  This 
view  is  the  only  one  which  shows  the  town  pump,  which 
is  still  rememljcred  by  many  of  oiu'  older  citizens. 

Salmon's  picture  of  the  fire  in  1832,  and  the  view  from 
Bowen's  volume  of  1838,  both  show  the  building  un- 
changed. 

The  view  made  by  Loring,  in  1876,  shows  the  addition  of  a 
Mansard  roof,  and  gives  a  correct  idea  of  the  l)uilding  as  it 
appeared  when  given  over  completely  to  l)usiness  purposes. 
Shortly   after  this  sketch   was   made  the  balconies  on  the 


12  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

easterly  end  were  removed  in  order  to  widen  the  street,  and 
the"  buikiing  then  appeared  as  shown  in  the  view  made  in 
1880. 

Turning  no^\'  to  tlie  Washington-street  end,  the  earliest 
view  is  that  of  1789,  taken  from  the  "Polyanthus."  This 
print  shows  a  temporary  balcony,  erected  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  General  Washington  when  he  reviewed  the  procession 
in  lionor  of  liis  visit  to  Boston.  It  shows,  also,  the  triumphal 
arch,  wliicli  was  thrown  across  Washington  street.  In  this 
connection  a  copy  of  the  progTamme  of  the  procession  is 
given,  slightly  reduced  in  size,  from  the  original  now  in 
possession  of  the  Public  Library. 

The  views  of  1791  and  of  1795,  l)oth  from  the  "Massachu- 
setts Magazine,"  show  no  alteration  in  the  l^uilding. 

The  drawing  made  by  Hunt,  and  lithographed  by  Pendle- 
ton, in  1835,  shows  a  balcony  supported  by  heavy  columns, 
and  corresponds  with  a  view  given  in  the  Bewick  Company's 
map  of  same  date. 

A  lithograph  made  in  1850  shows  that  the  columns  had 
been  removed,  and  a  modern  store  front  put  in.  Tliis  con- 
dition remained  substantially  unchanged,  in  1880. 

On  examining  these  views  it  will  be  seen  that  the  original 
lines  of  the  old  building  have  not  been  altered,  and  that  the 
exterior  walls  remain  intact,  except  where  the  doors  and 
windows  in  the  lower  story  were  enlarged. 

Comparing  the  Old  State  House  with  other  historic  ))uild- 
ings,  as,  for  instance,  Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia,  and 
Faneuil  Hall,  the  former  has  certainly  the  strongest  claim  to 
be  regarded  as  a  genuine  relic.  Etting's  History  of  Inde- 
pendence Hall  shows  that  the  work  of  restoring  that  edifice 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  13 

was  attended  by  far  greater  difficulties  than  were  met  with  in 
the  Old  State  House. 

Two  views  of  Faneuil  Hall  are  here  given.  One  from  tiie 
"Massachusetts  Magazine"  shows  the  original  building  as  it 
appeared  in  Revolutionary  days ;  the  other,  from  Snow's 
history,  shows  it  after  it  was  enlarged  in  1808,  or  as  it  is 
to-day.  A  white  line  on  the  latter  engraving  indicates  the 
outline  of  the  old  building,  and  shows  that  the  historic 
Faneuil  Hall  was  a  much  smaller  building  than  the  present 
one  ;  in  fact,  but  a  small  portion  of  the  old  building  remains. 
Nevertheless,  no  one  questions  the  title  of  both  Indepen- 
dence Hall  and  Faneuil  Hall  to  be  venerated  as  genuine 
relics  of   historic  times. 


PROCEEDINGS   AT   RE-DEDICATION. 


PROCEEDINGS   AT   RE-DEDICATION. 


The  five-years'  lease  of  the  Old  State  House  expired  July 
1,  1881.  In  anticipation  of  that  event  it  was  suggested  that 
the  historic  interest  of  the  buildino;  was  so  great  that  it  might 
be  desirable  to  retain  the  control  of,  at  least,  the  upper  part 
floor  of  the  building  for  public  uses,  and  to  restore  the  whole 
edifice  to  the  appearance  it  wore  a  century  ago.  The  City 
Council,  after  considerable  discussion,  voted  to  appropriate 
the  sum  of  thu-ty-five  thousand  dollars  for  repairs  on  the 
building,  putting  the  charge,  as  usual,  in  the  hands  of  the 
Committee  on  Public  Buildings,  of  which  Alderman  William 
WooUey  was  chairman  in  1881  and  1882. 

The  work  proved  greater  than  was  anticipated ;  but  on 
June  29,  1882,  the  committee  was  able  to  announce  the  sub- 
stantial completion  of  their  labors  (see  City  Doc.  100),  and 
to  invite  the  City  Council  to  attend  at  the  formal  transfer  of 
the  building  to  His  Honor  the  Mayor,  on  Tuesday,  July  11. 
Accordingly,  on  the  forenoon  of  that  day,  the  following  pro- 
ceedings took  place,  which  are  now  published  by  order  of 
the  City  Council. 

The  ceremonies  were  held  in  the  East  Hall,  occupied  in 
colonial  times  by  the  Governor  and  Council,  afterwards  hy 
the  State  Senate,  and  from  1830  to  1840  by  the  Board  of 
Aldermen.      Portraits    of    the    old    governors,    Wintluop, 


18  OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

Endicott,  Bellingham,  and  Burnet,  were  kindly  loaned  for 
the  occasion,  by  direction  of  Hon.  Robert  R.  Bishop,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate.  The  Massachusetts  Historical  Society 
loaned  portraits  of  Governors  Belcher,  Joseph  Dudley,  and 
Hutchinson.  The  Public  Library  contributed  a  caricature 
of  Governor  Gage,  and  engi'avings  of  Governors  Pownall 
and  Andros  also  hung  upon  the  walls. 

In  the  West  Hall,  formerly  occupied  l)y  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  later  by  the  Common  Council,  were  the 
super!}  portraits  of  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock 
owned  by  the  city,  and  Stuart's  portrait  of  Josiah  Quiiicy, 
Jr.,  the  patriot.  Otiier  interesting  pictures  and  engravings 
adorned  the  various  rooms.  The  orator  of  the  day  delivered 
his  address  from  the  Speaker's  desk  used  in  the  old  House  of 
Representatives,  and  now  owned  1)y  the  Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society. 

Owing  to  the  unavoidable  absence  of  Alderman  Woolley, 
chairman  of  the  committee,  the  asseml)lage  was  called  to 
order  by  Alderman  Heesey,  who  spoke  as  follows  :  — 

Mr.  Mayor,  Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council,  Ladies 
and  Gentlemen:  — 

You  are  assembled  here  to-day  to  receive  the 
report  of  the  committee  to  whom  was  assigned  the 
duty  of  renovating  and  restoring"  the  Old  State 
House.  The  work  is  completed,  of  which  you  have 
the  evidence  before  you,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  it 
has  been  done  within  the  estimates  and  appropria- 
tion. 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  19 

Til 3  work  of  restoration  has  not  been  accom- 
plished except  by  much  expenditure  of  time  and 
thought  in  delving  among  old  documents  for  evi- 
dences of  what  the  building  was  in  its  early  days; 
and  it  presents  to-day,  both  as  to  its  exterior 
and  interior,  substantially  the  same  apjiearance  that 
it  did  in  those  early  days  of  its  history  when  the 
noble  men,  whose  portraits  look  down  upon  us  here, 
walked  these  streets,  and  to  the  gathered  citizens 
within  these  historic  walls  spoke  the  patriotic  words 
of  counsel  that  incited  them  to  deeds  of  noble  daring 
in  defence  of  national  liberty,  and  made  this  country 
a  free  republic. 

It  would  seem  proper  that,  in  dedicating  this  build- 
ing to  purposes  akin  to  those  for  which  it  was 
originally  designed,  we  should  seek  the  Divine  favor. 
I  therefore  will  request  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rufus  Ellis, 
pastor  of  the  First  Church,  to  ask  a  blessing.  It 
would  seem  appropriate  and  fitting  that  he,  the  pas- 
tor of  the  church  which  in  its  early  days  was  located 
in  this  immediate  vicinity,  should  thus  officiate.  You 
will  please  give  your  attention  while  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Ellis  asks  a  blessing. 


PRAYER  BY  RUEUS  ELLIS,  D.D. 

O   God  of  our  fathers,  our  dwelling-place  in  all 
generations,  we  thank  Thee  for  our  goodly  heritage. 


20  OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

Not  without  Thee  would  we  come  together.  Obedi- 
ent to  Thy  voice  do  we  remember  the  days  of  old. 
It  is  our  desire  and  prayer  that  by  these  renewals  and 
restorations  we  may  so  strengthen  the  things  that 
remain,  and  so  bind  together  our  best  and  most 
precious  hopes,  and  our  dearest  memories,  that  we 
shall  grow  thereby  in  all  sweet  humanities,  and  our 
city  be,  indeed,  as  a  city  set  upon  a  hill  whose  light 
cannot  be  hid,  whose  light  shall  shine  in  praise  and 
works  that  are  just  and  merciful. 

We  pray  Thee  that  this  ancient  house  may  be  for- 
ever a  commou  possession,  a  common  jo}^,  and  a 
common  pride  of  all  those  whose  homes  and  places 
of  daily  toil  are  centi-ed  about  it,  and  may  it  be  a 
memorial  to  them  that  they  are  citizens  of  no  mean 
city.  So  may  the  Lord  keep  the  city;  so  may  its 
walls  be  salvation  and  its  gates  praise ;  and  so  for  the 
abundance  of  righteousness  and  love  within  its  bor- 
ders may  all  the  walls  that  are  builded  by  human 
hands  be  consecrated ;  and  may  this  be  to  us  at  last, 
in  the  brighter  and  better  and  holier  days,  that  city 
of  our  God,  of  which  it  is  written,  I  saw  no  temple 
therein:  and  for  the  light  that  shines  upon  all  and 
upon  the  house  may  there  be  nothing  uncommon  or 
unclean. 

"We  pray  this  prayer  unto  Thee  in  His  name  who 
bids  us  ]-ender  unto  Cfesar  the  things  which  are 
Caesar's  and  unto  God  the  things  which  are  God's, 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION.  21 

and,  in  the  words  which  He  hath  taiiglit  us,  may  we 
with  one  heart  and  one  voice  say  nnto  Thee :  Our 
Father  whicli  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name. 
Thy  kingdom  come,  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it 
is  in  heaven.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,  and 
forgive  us  our  ti*espasses  as  we  forgive  those  that 
trespass  against  us.  And  lead  us  not  into  temptation; 
but  deliver  us  fi"om  evil.  For  thine  is  the  kingdom, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  forever  and  ever. 
Amen. 

Alderman  Heksey.  —  Ladies  and  gentlemen, 
perhaps  to  one  member  of  the  city  government 
more  than  all  others  is  due  the  credit  of  whatever 
success  has  attended  the  restoration  of  this  building:. 
I  allude  to  that  member  whose  duty  and  pleasure  it 
will  be  to  address  you  on  this  occasion.  It  gives 
me  great  pleasure  to  introduce  to  you  Williasi 
H.  Whitmore,  member  of  the  Common  Council 
from  Ward  12. 


ADDRESS    OF    WILLIAM   H.  WHITMORE. 


Fellow-members  of  the  City  Council:  — 

"We  are  gathered  here  to-day  to  re-dedicate  a  build- 
ing ah'eady  hallowed  by  the  patriotic  contests  of 
previous  generations.  We  are  to  strengthen  a  link 
in  that  chain  of  our  history  which  connects  those  who 
resisted  the  despotism  of  the  Stuarts  Avith  those  who 
rebelled  against  the  misgovernment  of  the  mother 
country,  and  again  with  those  who  so  lately  foiTght 
for  the  preservation  of  the  unity  of  the  nation.  We 
are  to  remember  that  we  are  henceforth  the  custo- 
dians not  only  of  Faneuil  Hall  and  the  Old  South,  so 
i;niversally  known  at  the  present  day,  but  also  of 
that  older  and  still  more  revered  spot,  which,  after  a 
temporary  neglect  and  decay,  is  now  to  stand  pre- 
eminent among  all  the  buildings  in  the  land. 

I  will  endeavor  to  set  forth,  with  due  citation  of 
authorities,  the  claims  of  the  Old  State  House  to  be 
the  spot  most  intuuately  associated  with  the  history 
of  liberty  in  this  Commonwealth,  and  the  right  of  the 
present  building  to  assume  to  be,  not  the  representa- 
tive of  departed  glories,  but  their  actual  and  existing 
monument,  —  never  obliterated,  never  changed  in  any 


OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION.  23 

essential  degree,  —  as  fit  to-day  as  it  was  a  century 
ago  to  be  the  glorious    theatre  of  immortal  events. 

When  our  forefathers  established  this  toAvni  they 
found  that  IS^ature  had  apparently  marked  this  spot 
for  a  centre  of  the  neAV  settlement.  A  little  projec- 
tion, of  which  our  State  street  is  the  ridge,  divided 
the  coves  lying  north  and  south.  The  land  reached 
then  as  far  as  Kilby  street  on  the  one  side,  and 
Merchants'  Eow  on  the  other.  On  the  north  tlie 
Town  Dock,  now  covered  by  Quincy  Market  and 
even  b}^  streets  ftirther  inland,  reached  to  the  slopes 
of  Copp's  Hill.  On  the  south  a  cove,  occupying 
Liberty  square  and  its  vicinity,  severed  Fort  Hill 
from  approach,  except  on  the  line  of  Franklin  street. 
Directly  in  the  range  of  this  point  the  lofty  height 
of  Beacon  Hill  towered  above  the  narrow  plain, 
through  which  Washington  street  and  Court  street 
were  to  be  stretched.  Along  the  banks  of  these 
coves,  and  in  the  low  lands  between  the  three  hills  of 
Trimont,  the  houses  of  the  little  settlement  were  soon 
closely  clustered. 

Here,  on  the  site  since  occupied  by  Brazer's  build- 
ing, was  placed  the  first  meeting-house,  wherein 
from  the  beginning  the  townsmen  met  to  consult 
also  upon  temporal  aftairs. 

In  front  of  the  meeting-house  was  a  lot  set  apart 
for  a  market-place  as  early  as  1634,  and  definitely 
recognized  as    such  in  the  Book  of  Possessions  in 


24  OLD   STATE  HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

16i5.  It  was,  as  it  now  is,  the  land  enclosed  by  the 
two  arms  of  the  street,  and  its  dimensions  have  never 
been  lessened.  On  the  southerly  side  of  State  street 
Capt.  Robert  Keayne  lived,  on  the  corner  of  our 
Washington  street,  with  two  neighbors  between  him 
and  the  meeting-house,  while  Elder  Leverett  and 
two  others  owned  the  remaining  lots.  On  the  north 
side  of  State  street  John  Cogan  had  built  the  first 
shop  in  Boston,  on  the  corner  of  Washington  street; 
and  down  the  street  were  the  lots  of  Rev.  John 
Wilson  and  seven  others.  Opposite,  on  Washington 
street,  John  Leverett  lived  on  the  corner,  with  Rich- 
ai'd  Parker  south  and  west. 

Such  were  the  fii'st  surroundings  of  this  site,^  until, 

'  In  Suffolk  Deeds,  iii.,  386.  are  the  depositions  taken  in  July,  1660,  of 
William  Colbron,  James  Penn,  and  James  Johnson,  in  regard  to  the  sale  of 
the  meeting-house  lot  to  Robert  Thompson,  of  London,  now  of  Boston.  The 
price  paid  was  £160  sterling.  The  lot  is  described  as  follows  :  "being  sixty 
sixe  foote  long  abutting  upon  a  lane  that  lieth  bctwecne  the  same  &  land 
lately  appertaining  unto  Thomas  Leverett,  elder  of  said  church,  deceased,  but 
now  belonging  to  Isack  Addington,  on  the  north  east  side ;  sixty  two  foote 
broad  abutting  upon  the  great  streete  wherein  the  Towne  House  standeth,  on 
the  north  west  side ;  sixty  four  foote  long  abutting  partlj'  upon  the  great 
streete  aforesaid  and  partly  upon  an  ally  that  passeth  betweene  the  same,  & 
the  house  &  land  of  Henry  Phillips,  butcher,  on  the  south  west  side :  & 
being  sixty  foote  broad  abutting  upon  a  lane  that  licth  between  the  same 
&  the  laud  lately  belonging  to  Robert  Scott,  deceased,  and  now  in  the  pos- 
session of  his  relict,  on  the  south  east  side." 

Thus  we  learn  that  the  lot  had  a  street  or  an  alley  on  each  side.  The 
north-west  alley  was  Pudding  Lane,  now  Devonshire  street.  The  other 
alley-ways  are  still  represented  by  Congress  square.  In  1708,  in  the  hst  of 
streets,  etc.,  we  find  ;  "  The  way  Leading  from  y'  Exchange  in  King  Street, 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   KE-DEDICATION.       •  25 

in  1640,  the  meeting-house,  "  being  decayed  and  too 
small,"  Avas  sold,  and  a  new  one  Avas  built  on  the  site 
since  occupied  by  Joy's  Building.  The  site  was  in 
dispute,  some  Avishing  to  put  it  on  the  Green,  where 
the  Old  South  stands.  Winthrop,  i.,  318,  writes: 
"  Others,  viz.,  the  tradesmen  esjjecially,  who  dAvelt 
about  the  market-place,  desired  it  might  stand  still 
near  the  market,  lest  in  time  it  should  divert  the 
chief  trade   from   thence."      In   the   meeting-house 

passing  by  Mrs.  Phillips  into  Water  street,  Pudding  Lane.  The  way  Lead- 
ing from  King  Street  by  the  House  of  Isaac  Addington,  Esq',  with  y'  returne 
into  Pudding  Lane,  Half  Square  Court."  In  173G,  Half-square  court  was 
the  lane  "from  Jlaccarty's  corner  turning  into  Pudding  Lane."  In  1800, 
Half-square  court  was  "the  way  round  the  buildings  back  of  tlie  Post 
Office." 

This  original  purchaser,  Robert  Thompson,  was  of  the  family  ennobled  as 
Barons  Haversham.  His  son  or  grandson,  William  Thompson,  of  Elsham, 
county  Lincoln,  had  a  son  Robert  and  a  daughter  Mary,  wife  of  Humphrey 
Edwin,  of  St.  Albans,  county  Herts.  The  only  daughter  of  this  last,  Eliza- 
beth Edwin,  married  Thomas  Corbett,  of  Darnluill,  county  Chester,  and 
14th  Janu.iry,  1802,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Corbett  sold  to  Thomas  Dawes,  of  Bos- 
ton (Suff.  Deeds,  lib.  205,  f.  105),  their  building  on  State  street,  called 
"Boston  Buildings,"  and  also  the  Thompson  Farm,  in  Chelsea.  August  21, 
182G  (Suff.  Deeds,  lib.  312,  f.  123),  si.x  of  the  Dawes'  family  sold  .an  undi- 
vided half  of  a  lot  bequeathed  to  them  by  their  grandfather,  Thomas  Dawes, 
to  John  Brazer,  for  $18,357.75.  Later  deeds  show  the  purchase  of  the 
remainder  at  the  same  rate.  There  is  a  plan  recorded  with  the  deed,  show- 
ing 2,388  feet  in  all,  the  lot  having  evidently  been  shorn  of  its  original  lines 
on  Devonshire  street  and  the  corner  on  State  street.  Upon  the  death  of 
Mr.  Brazer.  in  1828,  this  lot  came  to  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Sarah  Brooks,  who 
died  in  1867,  and  whose  children  own  it.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  th.at  a 
large  lot  of  land  on  State  street  should  have  remained  so  long  in  two 
families. 


26  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   KE-DEDICATION. 

"the  general  and  great  quarter  courts  are  kept,'' 
wrote  Lechford  in  1640.  That  is  to  say,  our  incip- 
ient Legishiture  and  primitive  courts  of  Law  were 
there  lield;  as,  of  necessity,  must  have  been  con- 
vened all  town-meetings.  At  that  time  there  were 
about  two  hundi'ed  and  fifty  householders  in  Boston, 
representing  a  popiilation  of  some  fifteen  hundred 
persons.  Even  in  1(585  only  ninety  votes  were  cast 
in  town-meeting  to  elect  deputies.     (Sewall,  i.,  67.) 

For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  centur}'  from  the  set- 
tlement of  the  town  this  provision  Avas  sufficient. 
But  in  1656  Capt.  Keayne  died,  and  his  will  proved 
that  for  years  he  had  been  devising  benefits  for  his 
fellow-townsmen.  Keayne  was,  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company. 
His  controversy,  in  1642,  Avith  Mrs.  Sherman,  about  a 
stray  pig,  had  brought  the  two  houses  of  the 
magistrates  and  deputies  to  such  disputes  that  they 
had  resolved  to  sit  in  different  chambers.  (Winthrop, 
ii.,  160.)  He  Avas  a  merchant,  and  had  been  severely 
disciplined  by  the  church  for  trying  to  make  a  profit 
on  his  A^entures  beyond  the  amount  Avhich  the  clergy 
thought  proper.  (Winthrop,  i.,  315.)  "We  need 
not  suspect  Capt.  Keayne  of  extortion,  for  theo- 
logians of  that  date  had  hardly  escaped  from  the 
belief  that  all  interest  Avas  usury  and  all  jirofit  a 
breach  of  Christian  charity.  Our  merchant,  hoAV- 
ever,   submitted  to  discipline,  and  was   restored   to 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  27 

popular  favor,  being  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
and  otherwise  employed  by  the  town.  For  three 
years  before  his  death  he  had  been  Avriting 
with  his  own  hand  that  enormous  will  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight  folio  pages,  now  preserved  on 
our  probate  records,  by  which  he  disposed  of 
some  four  thousand  pounds,  —  an  enormous  fortune 
in  those  days.  "Writing  laboriously  and  care- 
fully, evidently  desiring  that  his  money  should 
be  wisely  expended,  Keayne  planned  various  ways 
of  aiding  his  felloAV-townsmen.  One-half  of  his 
estate  went  to  his  son,  the  other  to  public  uses. 
Three  hundred  pounds  was  for  the  Town  House ;  one 
hundred  for  the  granary;  fifty  to  the  free  school;  fifty 
to  the  poor  of  his  church ;  one  hundred  to  Harvard 
College ;  somewhat  to  the  Artillery  Company ;  many 
legacies  to  relatives,  friends,  and  servants,  —  a  whim- 
sical, generous,  pathetic  will,  full  of  a  desire  to  do 
good  according  to  the  best  of  his  light. 

But  the  tovm.  of  Boston  was  to  receive  one  gift 
which  would  endure  even  to  this  day.  Tliree  hun- 
dred pounds  Avere  to  be  laid  out  in  building  a  conduit 
and  a  market-place,  "  with  some  convenient  room  or 
two  for  the  Courts  to  meet  in  both  in  summer  and 
winter,  and  so  for  the  Townsmen  and  Commissioners 
in  the  same  building  or  the  like,  and  a  convenient 
room  for  a  liliraiy,  and  a  gallery,  or  some  other  hand- 
some room  for  the  elders  to  meet  in;  also  a  room  for 


28  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

an  armory."  There  was  to  be  a  room  for  merchants, 
masters  of  ships,  and  strangers,  as  well  as  townsfolk. 
All  this,  with  much  repetition  and  amendment,  is  set 
forth  in  the  will;  and  the  main  part  endured.^ 

In  February,  1656-7,  the  Selectmen  began  to  take 
action  respecting  the  legacy,  and  at  the  town-meet- 
ing in  March,  1657,  "  Capt  [Thomas]  Savage,  Mr 
[Anthony]  Stoddard,  Mr  [Jeremy]  Houchin  and 
Mr  Ed  [ward]  Hutchinson"  were  chosen  a  committee 
"  to  consider  of  the  modell  of  the  towne  house  to  bee 
built,  as  concerning  the  charge  thereof,  and  the  most 
convenient  place;  as  also  to  take  the  subscriptions 
of  the  inhabitants  to  propagate  such  a  building;  and 
seasonably  to  make  report  to  a  publick  townes 
meeting."  Kea3aie  had  suggested  Mr.  [Thomas] 
Broughton  arid  Mr.  [John]  Clarke,  the  chirurgeon, 
as  good  persons  to  devise  a  plan;  but  these  others 
were  trusted  citizens. 

Although  no  picture  or  j^lan  of  this  first  Town 
House  has  been  presei'ved,  we  can  get  a  very  good 
idea  of  it  from  the  papers  preserved  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society.  These  documents  were 
published  in  Mayor  Wightman's  address  at  the  laying 

^  See  Appendix  I  for  a  copy  of  tins  will.     His  autograph  is 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  29 

of  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  City  Hall,  and  are 
reprinted  in  Appendix  F  of  this  volume. 

The  committee  of  four,  perhaps,  reported  to  the 
town-meeting,  for  we  find  that  on  the  31st  August, 
1657,  Thomas  Marshall,  Samuel  Cole  (not  Cobb,  as  is 
printed  in  the  address),  William  Paddy,  Joshua 
Scottow,  and  Jeremy  Houchin  (of  wliom  all  l^ut 
Houchin  were  selectmen),  "  having  full  power  given 
us "  to  engage  the  town  for  the  payment  for  the 
house,  appointed  Edward  Hutchinson  and  John  Hull 
commissioners  to  attend  the  work.  These  two  last- 
named  agreed  with  Thomas  Joy  and  Bartholomew 
Bernad  to  erect  the  building  for  the  £300  of  the 
Keayne  legacy,  and  a  further  sum  of  £100,  to  be 
subscribed. 

We  find,  also,  that,  as  the  work  progressed,  it 
was  evident  that  more  money  would  be  needed,  and, 
therefore,  some  hundred  and  four  patriotic  citizens 
contributed  the  sum  of  £367.11.  As  the  final  pay- 
ment was  £680,  evidently  this  list  contains  nearly,  if 
not  quite,  all  the  donors. 

The  house  was  to  be  36  feet  wide  and  66  feet  long, 
set  upon  21  pillars  10  feet  high,  projecting  3  feet 
over  the  i)illars  on  each  side.  Moreover  there  was  a 
walk  on  the  top,  14  or  15  feet  wide,  with  two  turrets, 
and  balusters  and  rails  round  the  walk.  There  were 
to  be  two  pair  half-paced  stairs,  and  turned  stairs  up 
into  the  wallc.     We  infer  that  there  were  two  rooms. 


30  OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

one  from  each  end  chimney  coming  towards  tlie 
centre,  with  a  staircase  at  each  end,  and  that  one 
of  these  halls  was  subdivided  into  two  i-ooms.  Good 
floors,  windows,  mantle-pieces,  gutters,  and  other 
details  are  specified,  showing  that  the  town  intended 
to  have  a  good  building. 

Exactly  when  the  first  Town-house  was  completed 
and  occupied  does  not  appear  by  the  records,  though 
the  contract  with  Joy  and  Bernad  specifies  that  it  was 
to  be  erected  by  June  30,  1658,  and  covered  and 
shingled  within  six  weeks  later. 

May  19,  1658,  the  General  Coiu*t  passed  the  fol- 
loAving  order   (Rec,  iv.,  p.   327)  :  — 

''  lu  answer  to  the  request  of  the  Select  meu  of  Boston,  the  court 
judgeth  it  meet  to  allow  unto  Boston,  for  and  towards  the  charges 
of  their  town  house,  Boston's  proportion  of  one  single  country  rate 
for  this  year  ensuing,  provided  that  sufficient  rooms  in  the  said 
house  shall  be  forever  free,  for  the  keeping  of  all  Courts,  and  also 
that  the  place  underneath  shall  be  free  for  all  inhabitants  in  this 
jurisdiction  to  make  use  of  as  a  market  for  ever,  without  payment 
of  any  toll  or  tribute  whatsoever." 

The  Selectmen  of  Boston  voted  March  28,  1659, 
that  no  one  should  smoke  or  bring  a  fire  or  match 
under  or  about  the  Town-house  excejit  in  case  of 
military  exercise;  so  that  the  building  was  probably 
then  ready. 

Feb.  28,  1660-61,  a  settlement  was  ordered  with 
Thomas  Joy  and  partner  "  for  the  building  of  the 


OI-D    STATE   HOUSE   KE-DEDICATION.  31 

towne-house  stayre  cases  and  Conduit"  l)y  paying 
therefor  six  hundred  and  eighty  pounds,  deducting 
what  had  heen  paid. 

Oct.  9,  1667,  the  Legislatiu-e  ordered  "  the  neces- 
sary full  and  suitable  repair  of  the  Town  and  Coui't 
House  in  J^oston,  founded  hj/  the  late  Captain  JRobert 
Keayne,^^  one-half  of  the  expense  to  be  paid  by  the 
country,  one-quarter  by  the  county  of  Suffolk,  one- 
quarter  by  the  town  of  Boston.  May  31,  1671,  they 
ordered,  on  the  same  terras,  "  by  a  firm  whole  wall  to 
the  bottom  of  the  braces,  with  brick  or  stone  to  re- 
pah*  the  Court  or  ToAvn  House,  so  that  all  inconven- 
iences by  rotting  the  timbers  «6;c.  lie  prevented." 

Josselyn,  who  was  here  in  1663,  says,  in  his 
account  printed  three  years  later,  that  there  is  in 
Boston  "  a  Town  House  built  upon  pillars,  where 
the  Merchants  may  confer;  in  the  Chambers  above, 
they  keep  their  monthly  Courts." 

John  Dunton,  in  1686,  merel}^  repeats  the  same 
words.  From  items  in  the  town  records  it  seems 
that  Kichard  Taylor  hired  the  shop  under  the  stairs 
at  the  west  end  of  the  Town  House  in  1661,  and  in 
1669  he  obtained  an  extension  of  his  term  for  sixty- 
one  years.  In  1666  Roliert  Gibbs  obtained  a  lease 
of  the  cellar  imder  the  To'\\ai  House;  and  in  1664 
Thomas  Lake  and  Hezekiah  Usher  seem  to  have 
been  in  possession  of  the  east  end  of  the  cellar.  In 
1678  Samuel  Shrimpton  bought  out  Lake's  interest 


82  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

from  his  widow,  and  obtained  an  extension  of  the 
lease  for  thirtj-nine  years.  "Oct.  28,  1G8G,  let  to 
John  Hayward,  notary,  the  small  shop  or  room  in 
the  westerly  end  of  the  Town  Honse,  lately  occu- 
pied by  JSTathaniel  Barnes,  for  21  years  at  the  rent 
of  ten  shillings  annually."''' 

We  may  therefore  safely  assume  that,  as  the 
building  was  raised  on  pillars,  the  lower  floor  was 
partly  partitioned  off  for  shops,  leaving  a  large 
space  for  the  daily  exchange.  As  early  as  1664 
a  bell  was  ordered  to  be  rung  at  eleven  o'clock 
every  working  day,  to  give  notice  of  the  assem- 
bling there  for  one  hour  of  merchants,  strangers, 
and  inhabitants.  In  1683  it  was  voted  "  that  a 
note  set  up  under  the  Town  House  upon  one  of 
the  pillars,  concerning  the  price  of  wheat,  shall  be 
sufficient  notice  to  the  bakers  to  size  their  bread  by, 
according  to  law."  May  11,  1696,  "agreed  that 
the  market  appointed  by  law  should  be  in  and  about 
the  Town  House,  and  be  opened  on  August  11th, 
next." 

Upstairs  we  find  that  there  were  three  rooms, 
one  probably  for  the  Governor  and  Council,  and 
one  for  the  Representatives ;  and  naturally  there 
would  be  also  some  anterooms.  Although  the  first 
building  covered  less  ground  than  there  is  in  the 
present  lot,  it  was  probably  because  there  was 
more  space  at  the  east  and  west   ends.     The   first 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION.  33 

house  was  66  feet  long,  the  present  110,  but  the 
extra  space  was  in  the  street.  In  f^act,  the  French 
map*  by  Franquehn,  made  in  1693,  represents  the 
space  occupied  by  the  Town  House  to  be  as  large 
as  the  present  ground. 

The  other  portions  of  Keayne's  plans  did  not  prove 
so  permanent.  In  1684  and  in  1695  mention  is  made 
of  the  Town's  Library;  but  it  was  perhaps  lost  in 
the  fire,  1711.  As  to  his  Conduit,  we  know  that  it 
failed  in  some  twelve  years.  It  was  doubtless  to 
be  constructed  in  imitation  of  the  structures  then 
common  in  England.  "They  are  a  kind  of  stone 
cage  or  cap,  under  cover  of  which  the  conduit  pipe 
rises  to  the  top  and  then  lets  down  its  stream; 
sometimes  openly  (the  cap  being  a  cage),  some- 
times unseen,  to  a  reservoir  near  the  bottom."* 
The  Avaste-water  was  allowed  to  escape  b}-  paved 
gutters,  or  otherwise  to  seek  the  earth.  Doubt- 
less Captain  Keayne  expected  to  utilize  the  springs 
near  his  house  as  a  sujjply  of  water  for  daily  use, 
and  "especially  in  case  of  fire."  But  such  open 
streamy  were  unsuited  to  this  climate ;  and  that  feat- 
ure of  English  toAvns  could  not  be  imitated  here. 
In  March,  1672    (Town   Records,   ii.,   66),   it  was 


^A  careful  copy  of  this  map  is  in  our  Public  Library,  and  heliotypes  there- 
from have  been  freely  issued. 

'  Prof.  William  Everett  has  kindly  furnished  the  above  description  from 
his  observation  in  England. 


34  <^I'n    STATE    HOUSE    RE-DEDICATION. 

voted  that,  as  the  work  "  by  the  Providence  of  God 
hath  not  proved  so  useful  as  was  expected  and 
desired,"  by  an  agreement  with  the  overseers  of 
Keayne's  will,  "liberty  Avas  given  to  Mr.  Nicholas 
Page  to  take  away  the  bricks  belonging  to  the 
place  intended  for  a  conduit  at  the  end  of  the  Towti 
House,  before  his  door,  provided  he  immediately  fill 
the  place  even  with  the  ground  about  it."  As  Page 
had  bought  of  the  town  its  half  of  the  new  house, 
adjoining  Keayne's  old  one,  which  K.'s  overseers 
had  given  in  payment  of  the  legacy,  it  is  clear  that 
the  conduit  was  planned  to  be  on  the  south  fork  of 
State  street,  beside  the  Town-house. 


The  first  building  stood  from  1658  to  1711,  when 
it  was  bui'iied  in  a  tei'rible  conflagration.  In  it  pre- 
sided Governors  Endicott,  Bellingham,  Leverett,  and 
Bradstreet,  under  the  old  charter;  Andros,  under  the 
orders  of  King  James;  and  Phips,  Stoughton,  Bello- 
mont,  and  Joseph  Dudley  under  the  new  charter. 
Through  many  perils  —  from  Indian  foes,  from 
English  tyranny,  and  from  domestic  treachery  —  the 
settlement  steadily  increased  in  population  and 
wealth  during  these  fifty-three  years.  It  is  estimated 
by  Shattuck  that  the  population  of  Boston  was,  in 
A.D.  1680,  four  thousand  five  hundred  persons;  in 
A.D.  1690,  seven  thousand  persons;  in  A.D.  1700, 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   KE-DEDICATION.  35 

six  thousand  seven  hundred  persons;  in  A.D.  17J0, 
nine  thousand  persons. 

At  one  tune,  indeed,  in  1689,  this  ToA^ai  House  was 
the  centre  of  a  revohition.  In  Ajjril  of  tha.t  year 
the  colonists,  inspired  by  the  news  tliat  AViUiam  of 
Orange  had  hinded  in  England,  took  the  desjierate 
resolve  to  rebel  against  King  James  and  his  gov- 
ernor here.  It  was  a  rash  venture;  but  it  succeeded. 
Within  the  pi'evious  year  Andros,  a  veteran  soldier 
of  large  experience,  had  constructed  on  the  neighbor- 
ing height  a  fortification,  whicli  gave  its  name  to 
Fort  Hill.  He  had  royal  troops  under  his  command, 
and  a  man-of-war  was  anchored  off  the  shore.  But 
the  leaders  of  the  people  assembled  at  the  Town- 
house in  Boston,  supported  by  the  bold  and  resolute 
freemen  of  the  colony,  and  in  a  single  day  the  royal 
authority  was  overthrown.'  It  should  be  forever 
remembered  that,  although  a  like  success  in  England 
at  the  same  tune  secured  the  immunity  of  these  Bos- 

*  In  Byfiuld's  Account,  reprinted  in  the  Andros  Tracts,  he  states  that 
Gov.  Andros,  having  been  captured  at  the  Fort,  was  "conveyed  to  the 
Council-house,  where  Mr.  Bradstreet  and  the  rest  of  the  Gentlemen  waited 
to  receive  him.".  Hutchinson,  i.,  381,  says,  "A  long  declaration  was  read 
from  the  balcony  or  gallery  of  the  Town  House."  Beside  this  there  was  a 
broadside  issued,  subscribed  by  Wait  Winthrop,  Simon  Bradstreet,  and  thir- 
teen others,  dated  "  at  the  Town  House  in  Boston,  April  18,  1689,"  stating 
to  Gov.  Andros  that  "We  judge  it  necessary  you  forthwith  surrender  and 
deliver  up  the  Government  and  Fortification,  to  be  preserved  and  disposed 
according  to  Order  and  Direction  from  the  Crown  of  England,  which 
suddenly  is  expected  may  arrive." 


36  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

tonians,  still  the  actors  were  then  ignorant  of  that 
event,  and  for  at  least  a  month  they  were  ojien  and 
avowed  rebels.  I^or  can  it  be  doubted  that  the 
whole,  course  of  our  histoiy  was  innnensely  influ- 
enced by  the  fact  that,  when  William  and  Mary 
ascended  the  throne,  they  found  the  colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts so  far  distinguished  from  other  colonies  as 
to  have  foug'ht  independently  for  its  rights.  This 
old  ToAvn-house  was  the  first  shrine  of  liberty;  and 
every  subsequent  act  can  be  clearly  shown  to  be  the 
natural  and  logical  consequence  of  that  fii'st  uprising 
of  a  free  people. 


As  the  centre  of  the  town  this  old  hall  must  have 
witnessed  many  stirring  scenes.  Unfortunately, 
until  we  reach  the  date  of  SewalFs  invaluable  Diary, 
we  have  no  warrant  for  the  details. 

Sewall  (i.,  138)  notes,  under  date  of  May  17, 1686, 
"  General  Court  sits  at  one  o'clock,  I  goe  thither 
about  3.  The  Old  Government  draws  to  the 
ISTorth-side,  Mr.  Addington,  Caj^t.   Smith   and  I  sit 

at  the  Table,  there  not  being  room 

Came  also  Capt.  of  King's  Frigot  Gov"'.  Hinkly, 
Gov'.  West  and  sate  on  the  Bench,  and  the  Room 
pretty  well  filled  Avith  Spectators  in  an  Instant." 
May  18,  he  mentions  a  great  wedding  celebrated  at 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  37 

Mr.  Slirimpton's  by  Mr.  Eauclolph's  chaplain,  "  when 
Prayer  was  had  at  the  Town  House." 

May  26,  168G,  he  notes  that  Mr.  Eatchffe  and  the 
Episcopahans  asked  to  have  one  of  the  three 
churches  to  preach  in.  "  That  is  denyed  and  he  is 
granted  the  East-End  of  the  Town  House,  ivhere  the 
Dejmties  used  to  meet,  until  those  who  desire  his 
Ministry  shall  provide  a  fitter  place." 

Dec.  20,  1680,     Gov.    Andros  arrives,   "lands  at. 
Gov^  Leverett's    wharf   alwnt    2    P.M.    when    the 
President,  &c.,  meet  him,  and   so  march  up  through 
the  Guards  .of  the  8  Companyes  to  the  Town  House 
where  part  of  the  Commission  read." 

December  25,  1686.  "  Governour  goes  to  the 
Town  House  to  Service  Forenoon  and  Afternoon,  a 
Eed-Coat  going  on  his  right  hand  and  Capt.  George 
on  the  left."  January  31,  1686-7.  "There  is  a 
meeting  at  the  Town  House  forenoon  and  afternoon: 
Bell  rung  for  it,  respecting  the  beheading  Charles 
the  First:  Governour   there." 

April  26,  1687.  "Court  sits.  President  in  the 
Governonr's  seat,  Mr.  Stoughton  at  his  right  hand, 
Col.  Shrimpton  next  him;  Mr.  Lynde  at  his  left 
hand.  Major  Lidget  next  him." 

From  these  notes  we  infer  that  before  Andros^s 
time  the  Dej)uties  had  the  chamber  on  the  east  end. 
Afterwards  the  Supreme  Court  held  its  sessions 
in    the   room    appropriated    to    the    Governor    and 


38  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

Council,  which  probably  was  the  same  East  Chamber, 
as  the  Deputies  were  no  part  of  the  government 
under  the  Andros  administration.  This  room,  hav- 
ing once  become  the  property  of  the  Governor  and 
Council,  seems  to  have  remained  in  use  by  them 
until  the  Revolution. 

On  May  14,  1692,  Sir  "William  Phips  arrived,  the 
first  governor  under  the  Second  or  Provincial  Char- 
ter." Sewall  writes  (Diary,  i.,  360) :  "  Sir  William 
arrives  in  the  Nonsuch  Frigat:  Candles  are  lighted 
before  he  gets  into  Town-house.  Eight  Comjjanies 
wait  on  Him  to  his  house,  and  ,then  on  Mr.  Mather 
to  his.  Made  no  volleys  because  'twas  Satterday 
night.''  ''Monday,  May  16.  Eight  Comj^anies  and 
tAvo  from  Charlestown  guard  Sir  William  and  his 
Councillors  to  the  Town-house  whei'e  the  Commis- 
sions are  read  and  Oaths  taken."  Boston,  at  this 
date,  had  not  far  from  one  thousand  houses  and 
seven  thousand  inhabitants  (Palfrey,  iv.,  136)  ;  but 
at  the  election  of  a  representative   in.  May,    1698, 

'Palfrey  (Hist.,  iii.,  590)  thus  describes  the  scene:  "From  far  and  near 
the  people  flocked  into  Boston ;  the  government,  attended  by  the  principal 
gentlemen  of  the  capital  and  the  towns  around,  passed  in  procession  on 
horseback  through  the  tlioroughfares  ;  the  regiment  of  the  town,  and  com- 
panies and  troops  of  horse  and  foot  from  the  country,  lent  their  pomp  to 
the  show;  there  was  a  great  dinner  at  the  Town  House  for  the  better  sort; 
wine  was  served  out  in  the  streets ;  and  the  evening  was  made  noisy  with 
acclamations,  till  the  bell  rang  at  nine  o'clock,  and  families  met  to  thank 
God  at  the  domestic  altar,  for  causing  the  great  sorrow  to  pass  away,  and 
giving  a  Protestant  King  and  Queen  to  England." 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  39 

when  there  Avas  a  spirited  contest,  only  three  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  votes  were  cast.  (Sewall,  i., 
480.) 

Phips's  administration  lasted  only  two  years  and  a 
half,  and  is  forever  darkened  hy  the  shadow  of  the 
witchcraft  delusion  and  its  judicial  murders.  Hap- 
pily for  us,  none  of  the  sentences  were  pronounced 
in  Boston;  though  at  the  last  court  held  here 
one  Mary  Watkins,  a  servant,  despite  the  ver- 
dict of  the  jury,  Avas  imprisoned  by  order  of  the 
Court,  and  sold  into  bondage  in  Virginia.  (Drake, 
Hist.,  503.)  Hutchinson  (Hist.,  ii.,  Gl)  relates  that 
Dame  Mary  Phips,  the  governor's  wife,  was  ap- 
plied to  in  behalf  of  a  woman  held  for  trial  for 
witchcraft. 

"  The  good  lady,  propria  virtute,  granted  and 
signed  a  warrant  for  the  woman's  discharge,  which 
was  obeyed  by  the  keeper,  and  the  woman  lives  still 
for  aught  I  know."  It  is  fair  to  conclude  that  the 
document  was  in  the  usual  form,  and  was  taken 
from  the  official  pajoei-s  in  the  governor's  chamber. 
We  may  safely  infer  that  in  this  building  the  first 
female  governor  exercised  her  rights,  and  we  may 
rejoice  that  the  usurpation  was  for  the  glorious  pre- 
rogative of  pardon. 

From  November,  1G94,  to  June,  1702,  the  govern- 
ment was  mainly  in  the  hands  of  Lieut.  Governor 
Stoughton,  though  for  a  year  the  Earl  of  Bellomont 


40  OLD    STATE   HOUSE  RE-DBDICATION. 

was  the  nominal  governor.  Just  before  the  arrival 
of  Bellomont,  news  was  received  of  the  rejection 
of  several  of  our  laws  by  the  home  government. 
Sewall  (i.,  496)  thus  describes  the  scene :  "  Drum  is 
beat  and  Allowance  and  Disallowance  of  the  Acts  is 
published.  Lieutenant  Governor  [Stoughton]  and 
Council  standing  in  the  Galler3^  Great  many 
Auditors   below." 

Sewall  records  (Diary,  i.,  458),  that  on  September 
8,  1697,  "  the  Governour  and  Council  first  meet  in  the 
Council  Chamber,  as  it  is  now  fitted  with  ceiling. 
Glazing,  Painting,  new  Floor  that  brings  it  to  a 
Level ;  IS'ew  Hearth  even  with  it."  This  meeting  was 
made  noteworthy  by  the  announcement  by  Col. 
Pierce  that  limestone  had  been  discovered  at  IS^ew- 
bury,  —  a  matter  of  the  highest  imjjortance,  as,  up  to 
that  time,  the  colonists  had  been  obliged  to  burn 
oyster-shells  for  lime.  ISTov.  14,  1698,  a  rate  of 
£60  was  ordered  for  the  repairing  of  the  Town 
House,  and  no  other  use. 

Another  day  of  excitement  in  the  old  building 
must  have  been  that  one  in  July,  1699,  when  Captain 
"William  Kidd  was  examined  by  Lord  Bellomont  and 
his  Council,  charged  with  many  notorious  piracies. 
Research,  Avhich  destroys  so  many  illusions,  shows 
us  that  the  noted  pirate  was  far  from  being  so 
wicked  or  so  bloodthirsty  as  fame  reported,  and 
certainly  reveals  a  strong  infusion  of  poltroonery  in 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  41 

his  character.  The  muse,  however,  promptly  re- 
corded  of  him :  — 

"  My  name  was  William  Kidd, 
As  I  sailed,  as  I  sailed, 
And  most  wickedly  I  did. 
As  I  sailed." 

As  an  evidence  of  the  various  uses  to  which  the 
bnihling  was  put,  we  find  that  iu  1701,  "  because  of 
the  Rain  and  Mist,"  the  election  of  captain  of  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company  was  held 
in  the  Town-house,  when  the  choice  fell  upon  Judge 
Sewall.  They  call'd  down  the  Coimcil  out  of  the 
Chamber  and  set  their  chairs  beloAv:  Col.  Pynchon 

gave  the  Staves  and  Ensign Drew 

out  before  Mr.  Usher's,  gave  three  volleys ;  drew 
into  the  Town  House  again."  Then  Rev.  Mr.  Pem- 
berton  prayed,  and  the  company  escorted  their 
commander  safely  home.  So  again  in  1702,  "  rainy 
day,  we  exercise  on  the  Town  House  in  the  Morn." 

On  May  28,  1702,  news  arrived  at  Boston  of  the 
death  of  King  William. 

"  And  at  last  the  Gazette  containing  the  Proclaim- 
ing of  the  Queen  came  to  hand.  Then  we  resolved 
to  proclaim  her  Majesty  here.  Regiment  drawn  up, 
and  Life-Guard  of  Horse;  Council,  Representatives, 
Ministers,  Justices,  Gentlemen,  taken  within  the 
Guard.  Mr.*  Secretary,  on  foot,  read  the  order  of 
the  Council,  the  Proclamation  and  Queen's  Procla- 


42  OLD   STATE  HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

matioii  for  continuing  Commissions.  Mr.  Sheriff 
Gookin  gave  it  to  the  people.  Yolleys.  Guns. 
Went  into  chamber  to  drink."     (Sewall,  ii.,  5(j.) 

June  1,  1703.  "  Town-meeting  is  held  in  the  old 
Meeting-house  because  of  the  General  Assembly; 
2  p.m.  Voters  two  hundred  and  six."  This  entry  of 
Sewall  confirms  our  suspicion  that  the  Legislature 
had  the  first  claim  to  occupy  the  building.  In  March, 
1706-7,  the  records  show  that  the  town  meeting  was 
held  in  the  old  meeting-house. 

In  1704  Captain  John  Quelch  and  five  other 
pirates  were  tried  here,  and  sentenced  to  be  hung. 
The  sentence  was  executed  June  30.  Sewall  gives 
us  at  this  time  the  following  picture:  "As  the 
Governor  [Dudley]  sat  at  the  Council-Table  'tAvas 
told  him  Madam  Paige  [liis  niece]  was  dead.  He 
clap'd  his  hands,  and  quickly  went  out,  and 
return'd  not  to  the  Chamber  again;  biit  ordered 
Mr.  Secretary  to  prorogue  the  Court  till  the  16th  of 
August,  which  Mr.  Secretary  did  by  going  into  the 
House  of  Deputies."     (Sewall,  ii.,  109.) 

Sewall  records  on  February  6,  1707-8:  "Queen's 
Birthday.  I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  go  to 
the  Town  House,  because  hardly  anything  is  pro- 
fessedly there  done  but   drinking  Healths." 

1708-9,  January  6.  "  Presently  after  Lecture,  the 
Act  of  Parliament  regulating  Coin  is  "jjublished  by 
Beat  of  Drvmi  and  Sound  of  Trmnpet."     (Sewall,  ii., 


OLD    STATE    HOUSE   KE-DEDICATION.  43 

248.)  Undoubtedly  from  the  balcony  of  the  Council 
Chamber. 

March  13,  1709-10.  "  General  Town  Meeting.  Mr. 
Cotton  Mather  went  to  Prayer;  I  stood  in  the  Lobby, 
then  went    into  the    Council    Chamber.     Constable 

came  to  me  and  surprised  me  with  telling  me 

that  I  was  Chosen  Moderator.  I  went  in,  and  they 
would  have  me  sit  on  the  Seat,  which  I  did."  (Sewall 
ii.,  275.) 

From  this  entry  it  seems  that  the  town-meetings 
were  held  in  the  Representatives'  Hall,  which  could 
well  hold  the  citizens,  as  the  votei'S  only  num])ered 
about  two  hundred.  Other  entries  make  it  probable 
that  the  Supreme  Court  also  used  that  room,  the 
Council  Chamber  serving  as  a  consultation  room 
for  the  judges. 

In  1711  the  town  was  much  agitated  by  the 
arrival  of  some  fifteen  men-of-war  and  seven-  thou- 
sand troops  destined  for  an  attack  on  Quebec. 
There  were  abundant  festivities  and  solemn  ex- 
change of  courtesies  between  the  English  and  om* 
local  authorities.  The  ignominious  failure  of  the  ex- 
pedition was  a  sad  blow  to  Massachusetts,  although 
the  loss  of  life  was  confined  mainly  to  the  ships  of 
the  British  portion  of  the  fleet. 

To  add  to  the  general  depression,  a  great  fire  in 
Boston  occurred  "  about  7  or  8  o'clock  of  the  night 
between  the  2d  and  3d  of  October."     "  It  broke  out 


44  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

in  an  old  Tenement  within  a  back  Yard  in  Coi-nhill 
(i.e.,  onr  Washington  street) ,  near  the  First  Meeting- 
house, occasioned  by  the  carelessness  of  a  poor 
Scottish  "Woman  (one  Mary  Morse),  by  using  Fire 
near  a  parcel  of  Ocum,  Chips,  and  other  combustible 
Rubbish."  This  spot  was  in  or  near  Williams' 
Court.  "All  the  houses  on  both  sides  of  Cornhill 
[Washington  street]  from  School  street  to  what 
is  called  the  stone-shop  in  Dock-square,  all  the 
upper  part  of  King  street  [State  street]  on  the  south 
and  north  side,  together  with  the  Town  House,  and 
what  was  called  the  Old  Meeting-House  above 
it,  were  consumed  to  ashes."  (Hutchinson,  ii., 
200. ) 

Thus  ended,  after  half  a  century's  use,  the  first 
Town-house  which  has  stood  on  this  spot.  Of 
course  it  was  necessary  to  replace  it  at  once;  and  on 
the  17th  of  October  the  Selectmen  of  Boston  ad- 
dressed the  Legislature,  asking  its  "Advice  and 
Direction  for  the  Restoring  and  Rebuilding  of  the 
House  for  those  Publick  Uses,  and  about  the  place 
where  to  set  the  same."^ 

A  joint  committee  of  four  councillors  and  seven 
deputies,  with  Elisha  Hutchinson,  chairman,  was  at 
once  appointed,  who  recommend  that  a  ncAV  house 
be  built  "  in  or  near  where  the  Old  Town  House 
stood,"  the  "  breadth  not  to  exceed  thirty-six  feet,  the 


'  See  Appendix  B  for  copies  of  the  acts,  and  other  votes. 


OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-BEDICATION.  45 

length  so  as  to  be  convenient."  "  The  charge  to  be 
borne  the  one  half  by  the  Province,  the  other  half  by 
the  Town  of  Boston  and  County  of  Sufiblk  in  equal 
Proportion." 

Accordingly,  a  ncAV  committee  was  appointed,  viz. : 
Elisha  Hutchinson  and  Penn  Townsend,  comicillors, 
Addington  Davenport,  Samuel  Thaxter  and  Capt. 
Phipps,  deputies,  to  attend  to  the  affair,  with  two 
persons  to  be  added  by  the  town  of  Boston.  The 
town  assented,  and  joined  Thomas  Brattle  and 
William  Payne. 

March  12,  1711-12,  the  Legislature  voted,  as 
instructions  to  the  committee,  that  the  building  be 
not  more  than  one  hundred  and  twelve  feet  nor  less 
than  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  in  length.  JN^ovembei- 
17, 1712,  they  voted,  as  instructions  to  the  committee, 
"  that  they  fit  the  East  Chamber  for  the  Use  of  His 
Excellency  the  Governor  and  the  Honorable  the 
Council,  the  Middle  Chamber  for  the  House,  the 
West  Chamber  for  the  Superior  and  Inferior  Courts." 
And  "  that  there  be  but  two  Officers  below  Stairs  in 
the  Province  and  Court  House  now  Building  in 
Boston,  one  for  the  Secretary,  the  other  for  the  Reg- 
ister of  Deeds  in  the  County  of  Suffolk."  ' 

Although  we  do  not  know  Avho  designed  the  brick 
building  which  speedily  arose  on  the  site,  we  can 
to-day  inspect  its  sturdy  walls  and  recognize  the 
influence  of  the  Queen  Anne  period.     It  is  beyond 


46  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

controversy  that  the  fire  of  1747  and  the  various 
changes  which  have  been  made  in  the  buiUling,  in 
no  way  affected  the  exterior  walls.  We  are  to-day 
assembled  in  a  building  which  dates  back  to  A.D. 
1713,  and  we  can  form  a  correct  idea  of  its  original 
and  ever  continuing  appearance. 

In  1720  Daniel  I^eal  printed  his  "  Present  State 
of  ^ew  England,"  and  thus  describes  the  building  in 
its  earliest  days :  — 

"  From  the  Head  of  the  Peer  you  go  up  the  chief  Street  of  the 
Town,  at  the  upper  Eud  of  which  is  the  Town  House  or  Exchauge  ; 
a  fine  Piece  of  Building,  containing  besides  the  Wallc  for  the 
Merchants,  the  Council  Chanibor,  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
another  spacious  Room  for  the  Sessions  of  the  Courts  of  Justice, 
the  Exchange  is  surrounded  with  Booksellers  Shops,  which  have  a 
good  Trade."      (Neal,  p.  587.) 

In  1708  it  was  computed  that  Boston  had  twelve 
or  thirteen  thousand  inhabitants ;  in  1720,  eighteen  or 
twenty  thousand.  (Neal,  601.)  The  council  con- 
sisted of  twenty-eight  members,  the  House  of  one 
hundred  and  three.     (IS'eal,  605.) 

During  the  eighteen  months  which  were  needed 
for  rebuilding  the  Town  House,  the  town  meetings 
were  held  as  follows:  Nov.  16,  1711,  in  Rev.  Mr. 
Colman's  meeting-house  in  Brattle  street;  March, 
1712,  in  the  same;  March,  1712-13,  at  the  south 
meeting-house,  and  May  13,  1713,  in  the  new  Town 
House.     Sewall  records  (ii.,  387),  May  28,  1713,  — 


OLD   STATE    HOUSE   RE-UEblCATION.  47 

"All  the  Counoillors  are  sworn  except  Major 
Brown,  who  was  not  in  Town.  In  the  afternoon 
I  declar'd  to  the  Council  that  Prayer  had  been  too 
much  neglected  formerly;  we  were  now"  in  a  INTew 
House,  Ave  ought  to  Reform;  without  it,  I  would 
not  be  there.  Mr.  Secretary  assented,  and  I  was 
desired  to  see  it  effected.  May  29th.  Dr.  Increase 
Mather  prays  Excellently  in  the  Council." 

For  some  years  at  least  this  custom  of  beginning 
a  session  of  the  council  with  prayer  was  con- 
tinued. 

It  seems  from  Sewall's  notes  that  there  was  a  large 
table  in  the  council-chamber,  at  which  the  members 
sat,  and  that  the  Governor  occupied  the  head  of  it.* 

'Oct.  15,  1713,  Sewall  records  (ii.,402)  :  "  I  observ'd Two  Leather  Chairs 
were  set  at  the  end  of  the  Council  Table  and  the  Elbow  Cliair  set  aside. 
But  when  Gen'.  Nicholson  staid  not  to  sit  down,  they  were  remov'd,  and  the 
Governor's  Arra'd  Chair  took  place  again." 

Feb.  6,  1713-14.  "  I  went  to  the  Town  House  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Queen's  Birthday.  Mr.  Bromfiold  and  I  sat  awhile  in  one  of  the  windows, 
Table  heing  full ;  afterward  sat  in."  Later  on  that  evening,  one  Mr.  Net- 
maker,  secretary  to  Gen.  Nicholson  was  drunk  and  disorderly  in  a  tavern 
and  Sewall  ordered  his  arrest.  On  March  9th  Sewall  was  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Council.  "  Sat  round  a  little  Fire.  I  happen'd  to  sit  next  Gen^.  Nich- 
olson. .  .  .  Then  with  a  Roaring  Noise  the  General  said,  'I  demand  Justice 
against  Mr.  Sewall  and  Pemberton  for  sending  my  Secretary  to  prison 
without  acquainting  me  with  it !  '  And  hastily  rose  up,  and  went  down  arid 
walk'd  the  E.xchange,  where  he  was  so  furiously  Loud,  that  the  Noise  was 
plainly  heard  in  the  Council-Chamber,  the  door  being  shut." 

Sept.  24th,  1715.  The  Governor  comes  to  Town.  Elagg  [the  messenger] 
warns  [the  Council  to  meet].  Governor  sits  hy  the  side  of  the  Table  facing 
to  the  South ;  Lt.   Governor   [Tailer]  in  one  of  the   South  windows.     The 


48  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

It  is  a  fair  inference  that  this  table  reached  from  the 
east  window  towards  the  door,  and  if  so  it  was  in 
conformity  to  our  x^Tew  England  custom  by  which  the 
minister  or  other  presiding  officer  is  so  invariably 
placed  in  front  of  a  window. 

To  this  council-chamber  the  deputies  were  sum- 
moned, and  committees  of  that  body  were  here  re- 
ceived. At  such  conferences  the  Governor  was  not 
allowed  to  take  part,  though  on  one  occasion  at  least 
he  remained  in  the  room.  There  was  a  "closet," 
probably  one  of  the  anterooms  opening  from  the 
chamber,  to  which  the  Governor  could  withdraw  for 
private  consultation;''  and  perhaps  the  other  ante- 
room was  needed  for  the  accommodations  of  the 
twenty-eight  councillors. 

It  seems  that  in  this  chamber  the  Overseers  of  Har- 

Comraissions  were  produced  and  Read,  Oaths  given.  ...  At  length  the 
Governor  dictated  to  the  Clerk  to  this  purpose.  Whether  the  Government 
was  devolved  on  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  the  Commission  of  Gov.  Bur- 
gess nor  any  copy  of  it,  not  being  arrived.  It  was,  nemine  cont radicente , 
carried  in  the  Negative."     (Sewall,  iii.,  59.) 

'"Feb.  12,  1717-18.  I  salute  Cousin  Quincy  in  Council.  .  .  .  The 
Governour  calls  me  into  the  Closet  and  tells  me  he  would  make  me  Chief 
Judge."     (Sewall,  iii.,  168.) 

"Feb.  25,1718-19.  The  judges  meet  p.m.  in  the  Council  Cliamber, 
before  the  Meeting  of  the  Council.  .  .  .  Then,  in  the  Closet,  voted  it  con- 
venient to  have  two  Clerks."     (Sewall,  iii.,  213.) 

"  Dec.  19,  1723.  His  Excellency  took  me  aside  to  the  South-East  win- 
dow of  the  Council  Chamber  to  speak  to  me.  .  .  .  Dec.  21.  The  Governor 
took  me  to  the  window  again  looking  Eastward,  next  Mrs.  Phillips',  and 
spake  to  me  again."     (Sewall,  iii.,  315.) 


OLD    STATK    ITOI'SE    KF.-DKDICATION.  49 

vard  College  met  at  times,  as  did  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  among  the 
Indians,  March  27,  1729  (Sewall,  iii.,  395).  Once, 
March  29,  1720  (Sewall  iii.,  248),  the  "Inspectors 
of  the  Grammar  Schools  "  of  Boston  met  there.  The 
chamher  Avas  also  used  as  a  consultation  room  for  the 
judges.^"  ^Notwithstanding  the  order  to  construct  a 
west  room  for  the  courts,  it  is  very  douhtful  if  this 
were  really  done.  In  1717,  Sewall  speaks  of  a  trial 
held  in  the  old  meeting-house  opposite,  Avhile  sentence 
was  pronounced  in  the  court  chamber."  Was  not  this 
the  chamber  of  the  Great  and  General  Court,  that  is, 
our  House  of  Representatives?  When  the  fire  of  1747 
took  place,  mention  is  made  of  the  "  Council  Cham- 
ber, the  Chamber  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  the  Apartments  thereof,  in  that  Story."  Another 
account  speaks  of  "the  Council  Chamber"  and  "both 
the  Lobbies,"  and  also  the  "Offices  kept  in  the  Upper 
Story ;  "  but  it  says  "  the  County  Records  and  Papers 
belonging  to  the  Inferior  Court,  being  deposited  in  an 

'""Feb.  13,  1718-19.  All  the  Judges  desired  to  be  at  the  Governor's 
house  at  5  p.  m.  Met  accordingly.  .  .  .  The  Judges  went  to  the  Council 
Chamber,  &c.,  &c." 

"  "  May  9,  1717.  Jeremy  Phenix  arraigned  in  the  Court  Chamber.  10. 
Try'd  in  the  old  Meetinghouse.  Mr.  Auckraooty  was  Counsel  for  the 
Prisoner  and  had  family  with  him  in  the  Fore-seat  of  the  Women,  though 
he  be  bound  over  for  notorious  words  .against  the  Government."  "  May 
11th.  I  pass'd  Sentence  upon  Pheni.x,  the  Chief  Justice  being  absent. 
This   was  done  in  the  Court  Chamber."     (Sewall,   iii.,    130.) 


50  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

OlKce  upon  the  lower  Floor,  a\  ere  most  of  them  pre- 
sei'ved." 

There  is  proof  that  the  Council  Chamber  Avas  the 
scene  of  festivities  on  state  occasions,  such  as  the 
birthday  of  the  sovereign  or  his  accession,  the  arrival 
of  a  new  governor,  etc.^^  Here  also  were  held  pub- 
lic funerals,  as  in  the  case  of  Fitz-John  Winthrop." 
From  the  balcony,  at  the  east  end,  it  was  customary 
to  proclaim  the   laws,  with  sound  of  trmnpets    and 

"^  October  5,  1716,  Gov.  Shute  arrived  in  Boston.  "Ministers  met  the 
Governor  a  little  before  lie  got  to  the  Town-house.  Col.  Joseph  Dudley 
nearer,  and  went  up  and  sat  with  tlie  Council.  Col.  Tailer  met  the  Governor 
at  the  Stairs,  and  took  place  of  Lt.-Gov.  Dummer :  and  when  Duramer  was 
sworn,  gave  him  the  place.  Gov.  [Shute],  Lt.  Gov.  [Dummer]  laid  their 
hands  on  the  Bible,  and  Kissed  it  very  industriously."     (Sewall,  iii.,  105.) 

The  return  of  Gov.  Sliirley,  Nov.  7,  1745,  after  the  surrender  of  Louis- 
burg  was  here  celebrated  (S.  G.  Drake,  Hist.,  p.  C21),  and  so,  also,  on  June 
24,  174(i,  was  the  arrival  of  Gen.  PejipercU  and  Admiral  Warren.  On  the 
18th  Sept.,  1749,  the  indemnity  voted  by  Parliament  arrived,  amounting  to 
£183,649.  At  that  time  a  pound  sterling  equalled  eleven  pounds  old  tenor, 
or  thirty  shillings  new  tenor,  so  great  had  been  the  depreciation  of  paper 
money. 

"  "  March  23,  1714-15.  Mr.  Adtlington  [the  late  Secretary]  buried  from 
tlie  Council  Chamber;  'twas  a  sad  spectacle."     (Sewall,  iii.,  41.) 

"  Nov.  14th,  1717.  Attended  the  Funeral  of  Major-General  Winthrop. 
The  Corpse  was  carried  to  the  Town  House  the  niglit  before  :  now  buried 
from  the  Council  Chamber.  Bearers,  his  Excellency  the  Governor  [Shute], 
Gov.  Dudley:  Lt.-Gov.  Dummer,  Col.  Taylor:  Col.  Elisha  Sewall,  Samuel 
Sewall.  Scarfs  and  Rings.  TI>e  Regiment  attended  in  Arms.  Mr.  Jolin 
Wintlirop  led  the  Widow.  'Twas  past  five  before  we  went.  The  Streets 
were  crowded  with  people:  was  laid  in  Gov.  Winthrop's  Tomb  in  Old 
Burial  Place."     (Sewall,  iii..  147.) 


OLD   STATE   IIC)T'SK   I!E~DEDirATION.  ;")1 

beat  of  drums  ;'^  and  doubtless  from  so  convenient  an 
elevation,  loyal  addresses  were  delivei'ed  to  the 
assembled   townsmen   on   occasion. 

As  it  happens,  we  know  much  less  of  the  arranj^-e- 
ment  of  the  Representatives'  Hall  at  this  period,  as 
oui'  eliief  authority,  Sewall,  was  a  councillor  and 
judge.  AVe  know  that  the  number  of  deputies  was 
one  hundred  and  three  in  1720;  and  as  new  towns 
were  corporated,  the  numljer  rose  to  aliout  one 
hundred    and   twenty-five. 

The  speaker  was  annually  chosen,  and  the  choice 
submitted  to  the  governor,  who  rarely  negatived. 
In  1705,  Thomas  Oakes;  in  1720,  Elisha  Cook;  in 
1739,  Paul  Dudley;  in  1741,  Samuel  "Watts;  in  1766, 
James  Otis,  were  respectively  chosen  and  set  aside. 
The  House  also  elected  a  clerk,  but  the  office  was 
generally  continued  from  year  to  year. 

The  forms  of  the  House  were  probably  copied 
from  those  of  Parliament,  the  council  figuring  as 
our  House  of  Lords.  The  will  of  the  Governor 
was  signified  by  messages  or  speeches;  the  wishes 
of  the  deputies  by  committees  and  by  messages. 
Hutchinson  says  (ii.,  259),  apiopos  of  a  quarrel  be- 
tween   Governor  Dudley  and  the  House   about  the 

"  "Feb.  4th,  1714-15.  Drew  up  a  Proclamation.  .  .  .  riiblisIiM  it  by 
Beat  of  Drum.  Paper  was  sullied  with  the  llain.  Mr.  Hiller  read  it  out  of 
the  Council-Chamber  Gallery.  Col.  Cheekley,  Major  Eiteh,  Capt.  Abijah 
Savage,  etc.,  present."    (Sewall,  iii.,  38.) 


52  OLD   STATE   HOISE   HE-DEDICATION. 

power  of  adjournment,  "  It  has  always  been  the  prac- 
tice of  the  house,  befoi'e  and  since,  upon  a  message 
from  the  governor,  to  stop  all  business  and  go  up 
without  delay."  It  seems  also  that  divisions  of  the 
House  were  made  by  going  to  the  north  and  sf)uth 
sides.^^  "We  infer  from  this  that  the  speaker  sat  at 
the  west  end,  facing  the  main  doors,  and  that 
the  deputies  Avere  marshalled  by  him  on  either 
hand. 

The  town  records  contain  but  very  little  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  the  Town  House  from  1711  to 
1747. 

The  following  items  are  all  that  have  been  gleaned 
by  an  examination  of  the  indices  to  the  volumes. 

Sept.  25,  1716,  the  selectmen,  learning  that  a  sale 
of  a  ship  had  been  appointed  by  the  Court  of 
Admiralty  "  at  the  place  where  the  Court  is  held," 
voted  that  "  the  management  of  a  Publick  sale  in  the 
Town  House  is  forreign  from  the  declared  Intentions 
in  Erecting  thereof,  and  that  such  a  President  may 
be  of  111  Tendency." 

April  27,  1719,  "Mr.  John  Flagg  is  directed  to 
cleanse  the  Windows  of  the  Town  House.  " 

'°  "June  13th,  1717.  Council  declared  that  Cambridge  is  the  Shire-Town 
for  Middlesex."  "14.  The  Deputies  Concur.  Could  not  tell  by  lifting  up 
the  Hands,  were  fain  to  divide  the  House.  They  for  Cambridge  went  to  the 
Korth  side,  they  for  Charlestown  to  the  South.  Cambridge  had  -16,  Charles- 
town  41,  as  Brother  Northend,  one  of  the  Monitors,  informed  me."  (Sewall, 
iii.,  132.) 


OLD   STATE   HOITSE   KE-DEDICATKJN.  53 

1717-1718,  Benjamin  Bagnald  agrees  to  make  a 
Town  Clock  "  and  if  desired  lie  will  make  the  same 
to  go  as  an  eight  day  Clock  in  the  place  wdiere  it 
now  stands."  April  25,  1735.  Bagnald  is  to  take 
care  of  the  Town  clock  at  the  Old  Meeting  House, 
for  one  year,  for  £10. 

Feb.  13,1733-4.  The  selectmen  voted '^  that  to- 
morrow at  three  of  the  clock  the  select  men  meet  at 
the  Town  House  to  view  the  small  arms  lodged  in 
the  Town's  Armour}^,  and  that  Mr.  Treat,  gunsmith, 
be  ordered  to  attend  and  assist  at  the  view."  Ac- 
cordingly, Messrs.  Treat  and  ]Miller,  gunsmiths, 
"  were  directed  to  proceed  with  all  the  ex])edition 
possible  to  the  cleanmg  the  ai-ms,  and  putting  them 
in  order  for  us,  when  occasion  shall  rerpiire." 

Feb.  25, 1733-4.  "  Toted  that  speedy  care  be  taken 
to  fit  up  a  proper  office  for  the  Town  Clerk,  foi- 
reposing  and  securing  his  books,  and  that  it  be  in 
part  of  the  Green  Chamber." 

July  13,  1736,  the  selectmen  voted  "  to  rejiair  the 
balcony  at  the  east  end  of  the  Town  House,  fronting 
King  St." 

Aug.  27,  1736,  voted  also  "  to  oi-der  the  new  paint- 
ing the  sun  Dials  on  the  Town  House,  and  to  clear 
the  gutters  and  water  spouts  belonging  to  it." 

June  14,1738.  They  voted  "to  put  a  good  and 
substantial  post  at  each  corner  of  the  westerly  end 
of  the  Town  House  to  prevent  damage  by  carts." 


54  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATIUN. 

July  20,  1738,  ''to  take  care  that  the  easterly 
stairs  of  the  Town  House  be  repaired." 

Oct.  31,  1739.  They  leased  for  one  year,  for  £30, 
to  Joseph  Savell,  wine  cooper,  two  cellars  under  the 
Town  House  lately  occupied  by  Jonathan  "Williams 
and  James  Townsend:  viz.,  one  at  the  south-west  cor- 
ner and  the  other  at  the  noi'th-east  corner.  In  1741 
these  were  let  respective^  to  Samuel  Wentworth  and 
John  Gooch.  Dec.  21, 1740,  John  Buttolph  leased  a 
cellar  there,  formerly  occupied  by  his  father,  for  £22. 

Aug.  3,  1743,  "  the  east  end  of  the  Town  House 
to  be  put  in  repairs  and  other  necessary  repairs 
within  side." 

Sept.  5,  1744,  "  voted  to  repair  the  chimneys  in  the 
Town  House." 

In  this  chamber,  from  1711  to  1747,  presided  as 
Governor,  Joseph  Dudley,  William  Tailer^^  Samuel 
Shute,  William  Dummer,  Jonathan  Belcher  and 
William  Shirley,  all  upright  and  worthy  men,  but  all 
of  them  so  hampered  by  resti'ictions  from  the  home 
government,  as  to  be  frequently  involved  in  disjjutes 
with  the  rei^resentatives  of  the  people.  During  this 
period  the  popiilation  increased  steadily  from  eleven 
thousand  in  1715  to  seventeen  thousand  in  1744, 
though  after  the  last  date  it  remained  stationary  or 
slightly  decreased. 

'"  Tailer  and  Dummer  were  Lieutenant  Governors,  acting  in  the  place  of 
the  Governors. 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  55 

It  was  in  this  chamber  that  there  was  phinned, 
in  ITiO,  the  military  enterprise  wliich  was  tlie 
proudest  boast  of  our  provincial  history.  In  Janu- 
ary of  that  year  Gov.  Shirley  laid  before  the 
Legislature,  under  a  pledge  of  secrecy,  his  project 
of  capturing  Louisbui'g  from  the  French,  by  means 
of  provincial  troops  only.  On  January  25,  the 
consent  of  the  House  was  carried  by  a  single 
vote.  William  Peppercll,  a  member  of  the  Council, 
was  given  command,  and  by  Ajiril  1,  our  troops 
had  arrived  at  Canso.  The  fortunate  arrival  of 
Admiral  "VVarren,  with  a  considerable  fleet,  was 
one  of  the  many  lucky  accidents  which  turned 
this  quixotic  scheme  into  a  glorious  success.  On 
June  17  the  fortress  surrendered,  and  the  "  Gib- 
i-altar   of  America "    became    our   prize. 

It  was  a  splendid  victory,  for  it  gave  assurance 
to  England  that  a  new  military  power  had  arisen 
in  her  colonies,  and  one  thus  far  entirety  loyal 
to  the  crown.  As  Palfrey  says,  "As  things 
turned  out,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the 
capture    of  Louisburg   gave  peace    to  Europe." 

It  was  not  until  the  following  year  that  Pep- 
perrell  was  able  to  receive  the  deserved  honoi's 
which  his  countrymen  were  ready  to  shower 
upon    him. 

The  Boston  Evening  Post,  for  Monday,  June 
30,    174:6,    describes   the    arrival,   on    the    preceding 


56  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

Tuesday,  of  his  Majesty's  Ship  "Chester,"  of  50 
guns,  bnnging  Admiral  Peter  Warren  and  Sir 
AViniam  Pepperell.  The  Governor  met  them  at 
Castle  William,  and  landing  at  Long  wharf  about 
five  o'clock,  "they  were  received  and  congratulated 
hj  the  Honourable  Gentlemen  of  his  Majesty's 
Council  and  House  of  Kepresentatives,  and  being 
attended  by  his  Excellency's  Comjiany  of  Cadets 
imder  arms,  made  a  handsome  procession  to  the 
Council    Chamber." 

Then  the  Sj^eaker  and  the  House  pi'oceeded  to 
the  Council  Chamber,  where  a  brief  address  Avas 
made  to  Warren  and  Pepjjerell,  who  as  briefly 
replied.  Later  a  committee  of  the  House  was 
appointed  to  congratulate  Brigadier  General  Samuel 
Waldo,  "on  his  safe  return  to  his  native  country." 

It  was  from  the  veterans  of  the  French  wars 
of  this  period  that  the  heroes  of  the  war  of  In- 
dependence were  drawn.  But  for  the  martial 
spirit  aroused  by  these  campaigns,  and  the  lessons 
of  military  science  therein  taught,  our  forefathers 
would  have  been  but  an  undisciplined  mob  in 
1775.  To  give  one  example:  Col.  Richard  Grid- 
ley,  Avho  commanded  the  ai-tillery  at  Louisburg, 
thirty  years  later,  traced  and  constructed  the 
battery   on  Bunker's   Hill. 

In  l!fovember,  1747,  the  Town  House  was  the 
centre  of  another    uprising.     Commodore    Knowles 


OLD   STATE   IIOUSK   KE-DEDICATION.  57 

was  ill  command  of  a  fleet  lying  off  the  harl^or. 
Having  lost  some  deserters,  he  sent  a  press-gang  into 
the  harbor,  seizing  sailors  from  tlie  ships,  and  even 
landsmen  from  the  wharves.  There  was  at  onee  an 
ontbnrst  of  popular  indignation,  in  which  all  ranks 
joined.  "As  soon  as  it  Avas  dusk,  several  thousand 
people  assembled  in  King  street,  below  the  Town 
House,  Avhere  the  General  Court  was  sitting.  Stones 
and  brick  batts  were  thrown  through  the  glass  into 
the  Council  Chambei'.  The  Governor  [Shirley], 
however,  with  several  gentlemen  of  the  Council  and 
House,  ventured  into  the  balcony  "  (Hutchinson,  ii., 
432),  and  after  silence  was  obtained  addressed  the 
assemblage.  He  promised  to  try  to  obtain  the 
release  of  tlie  townsmen;  but  the  crowd  was  not  to 
be  thus  pacified.  For  three  days  the  contest  con- 
tinued, the  people  having  seized  some  of  the  officers 
from  the  fleet  as  hostages,  and  the  commodore 
threatening  to  bombard  the  town  by  Ava}^  of  reprisal. 
Finally  the  Legislature  interjjosed  with  promises  to 
both  sides;  the  impressed  men  were  liberated,  and  the 
squadron  sailed,  to  the  great  relief  of  all  in  authority. 
On  Wednesday,  December  9,  1747,  the  Town- 
house was  greatly  injured  by  a  fire.  The  folloAving 
extract  from  the  newspapers  will  explain  the  extent 
of  the  loss :  — 

"  Yesterday  morning  between  C  &  7  o'clock  we  were  exceedingly 
surprised  by  a  most  terrible  Fire,  which  broke  out  at  the  Court 


58  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

House  in  this  Towu,  whereby  that  spacious  and  beautiful  Building 
except  the  bare  outward  Walls,  was  entirely  destroyed.  As  the 
Fire  began  in  the  middle  or  second  Story,  the  Records.  Books, 
Papers,  Furniture,  Pictures  of  the  Kings  and  Queens,  &c.,  which 
were  in  the  Council  Chamber,  the  Chamber  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  the  Apartments  thereof,  iu  that  Story,  were  con- 
sumed ;  as  were  also  the  Books  and  Papers  iu  the  Offices  of  the 
upper  Story  :  Those  in  the  Offices  below  were  mostly  saved.  In 
the  Cellars  which  were  hired  by  several  Persons,  a  great  quantity 
of  Wines  and  other  Liquors  were  lost.  The  publick  Damage 
sustaiu'd  l)y  this  sad  Disaster  is  inexpressibly  great  and  the  Loss 
to  some  particular  Persons,  't  is  said  will  amount  to  several  Thou- 
sand Pounds.  The  Vehemence  of  the  Flames  occasion'd  such  a 
great  Heat  as  to  set  the  Roofs  of  some  of  the  opposite  Houses  on 
Fu-e  notwithstanding  they  had  been  covered  with  Snow,  and  it  was 
extinguished  with  much  Difficulty.  How  the  Fire  was  occasion'd, 
whether  by  Defects  in  the  Chimney  or  Hearth  as  some  think,  is 
uncertain."  — Boston  Weekly  News  Letter,  TJiursday,  December  10, 
1747. 

The  account  in  the  Boston  Evening  Post,  for  the 
fourteenth  of  December,  adds :  — 

' '  The  fine  Pictures  and  other  Furniture  in  the  Council  Chamber 
were  destroyed  as  were  also  the  Books,  Papers  and  Records  in 
both  the  Lobbies,  and  those  in  the  Offices  kept  in  the  upper  Story  ; 
but  the  County  Records  and  Papers  belonging  to  the  Inferiour 
Court  being  deposited  in  an  Office  upon  the  lower  Floor,  were 
most  of  them  preserved." 

The  same  paper  prints  the  following  extracts 
from  the  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives :  — 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   KE-DEUIC.VTIUX.  51) 

"  12   December  A. D.  1717. 

"  Upon  a  motion  made  and  sooonded, 

^^  Resolved,  that  the  House  now  make  particular  Enquiry  how 
the  late  Fire  in  the  Court  House  was  first  discovered,  and  by  what 
Means  it  was  occasioned.  After  cxaniinini;;  tlic  Diior-ivccpcr  and 
receiving  a  particular  account  of  the  Time  and  Circumstances  of 
his  leaving  the  House  the  Evening  before,  and  enquiring  of  those 
Gentlemen  who  early  discovered  the  Fire. 

"  Sesolved.  That  it  appearsto  the  Satisfaction  of  this  House, that 
tiie  late  Fire  wliich  consumed  the  Court  House,  proceeded  from  the 
AVood-woriv  under  the  Hearth  taking  Fire,  aud  that  the  Fire  first 
broke  out  in  the  Entry-way  between  the  Council  Chamber  aud  the 
Representatives'  Koom,  and  from  thence  went  up  the  Stair  Case, 
and  through  the  Roof,  aud  continued  until  the  House  was  con- 
sumed." 

The  following  letter  of  Secretary  Willard  to 
Christopher  Kilby  and  William  BoUan,  agents  of  the 
province  in  London,  is  copied  from  vol.  1  of  the 
'  Records  of  Plymouth  Coimty,"  giving  the  "  Acts  of 
Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  of  Xew  Eng- 
land," edited  by  David  Pulsifer. 

"Boston,  Dec'r21,  1747. 
"  Gentlemen  I  am  now  to  give  you  the  sorrowful  News  of  the 
grievous  &  surprizing  Rebuke  of  Divine  Provideuce  on  the  Gov- 
ernm't  of  this  Province  in  the  Destruction  of  the  Court  House  by 
Fire  which  happened  in  the  Morning  of  the  nintli  Instant.  It  was 
geueralh'  concluded  to  have  begun  in  the  Floor  under  the  chimneys 
of  the  Council  Chamber  &  House  of  Reprcsent'ves  &  was  not 
discover'd  till  it  was  greatly  increased  ;  All  the  Books  of  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  Govern'r  &  Council  &  House  of  Reprent'ves  there  iu 


GO  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.      . 

the  House  were  wholly  lost  without  saving  one  &  all  the  Books  of 
Conimiss'us  and  other  lustnim'ts  as  well  from  the  Crown  as  the 
Goverum't  of  the  Province  with  most  of  ye  original  Papers  arc 
likewise  consumed." 

The  General  Court  was  offered  the  use  of  Faneixil 
Hall,  but  was  accommodated  for  the  few  days 
remaining-  in  the  session  at  the  Royal  Exchange 
tavern  kept  by  Luke  Yardy,  on  tlie  west  corner  of 
Exchange    and   State   streets.'' 

It  seems  that,  as  in  1711,  the  expense  of  the  repaii-s 
was  paid,  one-half  by  the  Province,  one-quarter  each 
by  the  town  of  Boston,  and  the  county  of  Sufiblk. 
The  expense  was  £'3,705  lis.  4:d.  lawful  money. 
Whatever  plans  were  made  for  this  restoration,  it 
Avould  seem  that  the  exterior  walls  at  least  were  not 
touched.     (See  Appendix  C.) 

Fortunately,  as  in  deal's  case,  in  1720,  we  have 
a  description  of  the  new  building  from  one  who 
saw  it  in  its  freshness.     Capt.  Francis  Goelet  (whose 

"  The  rather  churlish  vote  of  the  Selectmen,  as  given  below,  may 
explain   the   disinclination  of  the   Governor  to  accept  the   offer :  — 

Dec.  IG,  17+7.  Voted  "that  liberty  be  and  hereby  is  granted  to  his 
Excellency  the  Governour  and  the  Honorable  his  Majesty's  Council  to 
improve  the  Chamber  in  Faneuil  Hall,  the  Selectmen  usually  set  in  to  do 
Business,  when  they  shall  have  occasion  therefor  until  they  can  be  better 
Ijrovided :  and  that  the  Honorable  Josiah  Willard,  Esq".  Secretary  be 
allowed  to  make  use  of  the  Office  under  the  stairs  in  Faneuil  Hall  which 
hath  been  improved  for  the  Naval  Officer,  until  better  provided,  he  paying 
the  same  rent  Mr.  Overing  agreed  for,  to  commence  the  12"\  instant." 


UM)    STATE    lIUl  SE    KE-1)EI)R'.VTU»N.  01 

journal  is  pi'inted  in  the  'N.'E.  Historical  and  Genea- 
logical Register  for  1870,  p.  72)  thus  descrihcs  it 
in  the  autumn  of  1750: — 

'•Tliov  have  :ilso  a  Town  House,  Imilt  of  ]?iick,  situated  in 
King's  street.  It's  a  very  Grand  Brick  Building,  Arch'd  all 
Round,  and  Two  Storie  Heigh,  Sash'd  above;  its  Lower  Part  is 
always  Open,  design'd  as  a  Change,  tho'  tlie  Merchants  in  Fair 
AYeather  make  their  Change  iu  tiic  open  Street  at  the  Eastermost 
End.  In  the  upper  Story  are  the  Council  and  Assembly  Cham- 
bers &c.  It  has  a  neat  Capnlo,  sash'd  all  round,  and  which  on 
rejoycing   days   is  Elluuiiuated.""' 

Capt.  Goelet  mentions  that  on  October  30th, 
His  Majesty's  Birth-da^-,  he  "  Avent  at  noon  with 
Capt.  "Wendell  to  the  Comicill  Chamber  in  the 
Towne  House,  -where  [he]  drank  the  Loyall  Toasts 
with  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  Councill,"  etc. 

B}'  the  records  of  the  House  it  appears  that 
Dec.  12,  1752,  there  was  paid  £6  13s.  Id.  to  Moses 
Deshon  "  for  the  arms  of  the  Colony  which  he  has 
carved,  and  put  up  iu  the  Hoitse  of  Representatives." 

By  the  l)ill  of  tlie  painter  iu  1773,  it  seems  that 
the  Colony  arms  still  remained,  wdiile  the  King's 
arms,  also  then  paid  for,  w^ere  prolialih'  in  the 
Council    Chamber.      The  historic   Codfisli    was   also 

"  Jany  17,  1740-50  "  voted  that  tlie  Engine  under  the  care  of  Mr  Thomas 
Rood  1)0  roinovcd  to  tlio  colUir  uiulor  tho  Town  House  as  soon  as  may  be, 
and  that  Mr  Cooke  be  dosirod  to  got  a  Platform  laid,  and  what  else  may 
be  necessary  to  be  done  for  the  same."  —  Selectmen's  Records. 


G'2  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   UE-DEDICATION. 

mentioned,  and  various  pictm-es,  of  whicli  tlie  only 
one  named  is  that  of  Gov.  Burnet. 

Very  strangely,  it  appears  by  the  "Boston  Post 
Boy  "  of  June  16th,  1766,  that  a  gallery  was  put  in 
the  Representatives'  Hall,  though  it  is  hard  to  imagine 
where  space  was  found  for  it.  Chandeliers,  of 
course,  hung  in  each  hall,  and  the  desk  of  the  Clerk 
or  Speaker  of  the  House  is  still  preserved  by  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society." 

When  the  work  of  the  restoration  Avas  commenced 
last  year,  it  was  found  that  the  framing  of  the 
timbers  was  such  that  thei-e  must  have  been  a 
circular  stairway  in  the  place  now  occupied  by  it, 
from  the  first  floor  to  the  halls,  and  that  the  landings 
must  have  presented  their  present  form.^" 

The  same  investigation  showed  that  the  Repre- 
sentatives' Hall  had  its  easterly  end  curved,  while 
the  Council  Chamber  was  square.  These  indications 
coincide  with  a  description  published  in  1791,  when 
the    halls  were  occupied  by  the  Legislature   of  the 


13  Althougli  described  as  the  Speaker's  desk,  it  seems  almost  impossible 
that  it  could  have  been  so  used.  It  may  have  been  the  clerk's  desk,  but  the 
presiding  officer  would  a]i])arently  require  a  more  prominent  place. 

'"  The  balusters  in  the  new  stairway  are  copied  from  those  in  Gov. 
Shirley's  house,  still  standing  in  Roxbury.  As  he  was  the  governor  at  the 
date  of  the  rebuilding,  in  1747,  no  better  exemplars  could  be  desired. 
Similar  balusters  are  in  tlie  home  of  the  Quincys.  The  plans  made  by  Isaiah 
Rogers  in  1830  show  the  same  stairway,  out  of  centre,  and  the  floor-beams 
explain  the  cause  of  this  eccentricity. 


Old    State   House    in    1791.     (From  the  Massachusotts  Jlagazine.) 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  03 

State,  and  when,  apparent!}',  no  clianges  had  been 
made.  The  3fassachi(setf.s  Magazine  for  Augnst, 
1791,  gives  a  sonth-west  view  of  Ww  bnilding,  i.e., 
one  taken  from  the  Washington-street  end,  and  the 
folloAving'  description  is  added:- — ■ 

"  The  State  House  is  an  elegant  brick  building,  standing  at  tlie 
head  of  State  Street,  one  mile  and  297  yards  from  the  fortifieution. 
It  is  110  feet  in  length  and  thirty-eight  in  breadth.  The  founda- 
tions of  the  present  walls  were  laid  A.D.  1712,  the  former  State 
House  having  been  reduced  to  ashes  in  the  great  fire  of  the  pre- 
ceding year.  The  internal  i)art  of  this  building  agani  expcriinccd 
the  desolating  flame  in  1747,  when  a  vast  number  of  ancient  books 
and  early  records,  together  with  a  collection  of  valuable  papers, 
were  destroyed,  and  to  the  ravages  of  this  calamity  we  may  attrib- 
ute the  imperfect  accounts  that  are  to  be  obtained  of  the  first  and 
second  building.  The  ascent  to  tiie  lower  floor,  as  fronting  the 
Long  wharf,  is  by  an  elevated  flight  of  large  stone  steps,  railed 
round  with  neat  iron  balustrades.  There  are  three  other  entrances  : 
one  at  the  opposite  end,  facing  to  Cornhill,  and  the  other  two  in 
the  opposite  centres  of  the  length.  The  Clerks  of  the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court  and  Court  of  Common  Pleas  hold  their  offices 
upon  the  first  ^oor,  which  also  serves  in  bad  weather  as  an 
exchange  for  the  mercantile  part  of  the  community.  A  range 
of  Doric  i^illars  support  the  floors  of  the  second  story,  which  is 
destined  for  the  accommodation  of  tiie  GJeneral  Legislature.  The 
Senate  ChaniTier  is  thirty-two  feet  square  and  lifteeu  I'l'et  in 
height,  furnished  with  a  convenient  lobby  for  committees- to 
transact  business  in.  The  Representatives'  Chamber  is  fifty-seven 
and  a  half  feet  in  length,"'  thirty-two  in  breadth,  and  the  same 

"  This  figure,  fifty-seven  and  one  half  feet,  is  an  impossibility,  being  more 
than  one-half  the  length  of  the  building.     But  thirty-seven  and  one-half 


G4  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

height  as  the  former,  with  a  well-constructed  lobby-  The  third 
or  upper  storj'  is  improved  by  different  comniittees  duriug  the 
session,  and  has  an  East,  West  and  South  lobby ;  beside  several 
apartments  for  pulilick  papers  and  records.  On  the  centre  of  the 
roof  is  a  tower,  consisting  of  three  stories,  finished  according  to 
the  Tuscan,  Dorick  and  lonick  orders  complete,  and  from  thence 
is  a  fine  prospect  of  the  Harbor  and  adjacent  Country." 

The  painter's  bill"  of  1773  also  mentions  the  Lion 
and  the  Unicorn  which  crowned  the  east  end  of  the 
exterior,  the  carved  corner-pieces  on  the  west  front, 
the  balcony  and  pediment  in  front  at  the  main 
window   of    the    Council    Chambei",   and   the    steps, 

feet  would  reach  exactly  to  the  line  of  the  curved  end  of  the  hall  as  shown 
on  Rogers'  plans  and  now  reconstructed.  Evidently  the  writer  put  his  notes 
of  the  measurements  in  tigures,  and  citlier  he  or  his  printer  mistook  thirty- 
seven  and  one-half  for  fifty-seven  and  one-half.  The  error  really  confirms 
the  exactness  of  the  record. 

-'  The  following  interesting  document  is  printed  from  the  original  in  the 
collection  of  Mellen  Chamberlain.  Esq..  of  the  Boston  Public  Library:  — 
1773.  Province  Massachusetts  Bay  to  Tho\  Crafts,  Jun.  Dr. 

To  painting  State  House,  Viz. 

To  paints  Council  Chamber  Loby,  &e.,  402  yards  @  9''.,       15  ..     1  ..     G 

To  Ditto  Representatives  Ditto,  426  yards  @  O"".,  15  ..  19  ..    G 

To  my  self  &  2  hands,  2  Days  and  half,  taking  down  &  '\ 

putting    up    Picturs    in    Council    &   Representatives  >     1  ..  17  ..     6 
Chambers  @  5/,  J 

To  p.ainting  &  Gilding  Kings  Arms, 

To  Ditto  Ditto  Colonies  D°, 

To  Ditto  Codfish, 

To  Ditto  &  Gilding  Dial,  East  End, 

To  Ditto  Bricks  as  p''  .\greement, 

To  Ditto  Lower  tioor,  p'  Ditto, 

To  Ditto  Stair  Cases,  208  yards  @  O"., 


10  . 

.     0  .. 

0 

4  . 

.     0  .. 

0 

0  . 

.  15  .. 

3. 

.  10  .. 

0 

47. 

.     0  .. 

0 

14  . 

.     7  .. 

4 

7  . 

.  IG  .. 

0 

OLD   STATE  HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 


65 


which,  for  a  time,  reached  from  the  first  flooi-  down 
State  street.-' 

These  features  have  all  been  reproduced  in  the 
restored  building.  It  was,  indeed,  a  question  whether 
or  not  to  restore  the  royal  arms  upon  the  east  end, 
but  a  feature  so  distinctive,  architecturally,  could  not 
be  well  omitted.  Happily,  no  one  will  to-day  misun- 
derstand the  feeling  with  which  we  replace  this  me- 


May  To  4  Hands,  Clcaninj^  &  scraping  D°.,  1  day  @  5/, 
25"'  To  painting  Belcony  &  Pedemlnt  over  it,  80  yards  @  10''., 

To  Ditto  10  Lutherin  Windows  @  /8, 

To  Ditto  8  Cants,  30  yards  @  10''., 

To  Ditto  2  Carved  Corner  Pieces, 

To  Ditto  Lyon  &  Unicorn, 

To  Ditto  3  Pediments  over  Doors,  30  yards  @  W., 

To  Ditto  ,5i  Window  frames,  very  Dry,  @  4/, 

To  Ditto  1442  squares  sash  @  12'1., 

To  Ditto  4  Ox  Eye  Window  frames  @  1/, 

To  Ditto  Mondilion  Cornish  outside,  IfiO  yards  @  10'' 

To  Ditto  Trunks,  50  Yards  @  W., 

To  writing  Gold  Letters  over  Doors, 

To   2   Hands   half    day,   bringing    Picturs    from    Gov'"   & 
punS  up. 

To  paints  2  Doz  Draws, 

To  Ditto  Rails  down  front  Steps,  4  hands  2  days. 

To  cleaning  GoV  Burnets  Picture  &  Gilds  frame. 


.  0  . 

0 

3  . 

.  G  . 

8 

.  0  . 

0 

.  5  . 

0 

.  0  . 

0 

.  8  . 

0 

.  5  . 

0 

10  . 

.  IG  . 

0 

12  . 

.  0  . 

4 

0. 

.  4  . 

0 

6  . 

.  13  . 

4 

2  . 

.  1  . 

8 

12  . 

0 

& 

5  . 

0 

4  . 

0 

3  . 

.  0  . 

0 

1  . 

IC  . 

£171  . 

.  3. 

10 

2 

.  5. 

0 

£173  . 

.  8  . 

10 

60  j'ards  painting  short  charg*  @  9'*., 


^  These  steps  are  in  the  picture  painted  in  1801,  owned  by  the  Historical 
Society,  but  were  removed  before  the  view  in  1821  was  taken.  They  are 
in  the  view  of  1785  also,  and  are  mentioned  in   1701. 


66  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   KK-DEDICATION. 

mento  of  our  colonial  days,  —  a  recognition  merely  of 
the  facts  of  history,  neither  forgetful  of  the  protec- 
tion which  the  mother  country  once  extended,  nor 
hoastful  of  the  change  which  has  given  us  a  national 
coat-of-arms,  a  national  flag,  and  a  supreme  govern- 
ment, at  least  equal  to  those  which  we  renounced  a 
century  ago.'^* 

It  is  certain  that  prior  to  the  fire  in  1747,  the  town 
had  ceased  to  regard  the  Town  House  as  its  partic- 
ular jDride.  In  1740  Peter  Faneuil  had  otfered  to 
the  town  a  building  for  a  market  and  a  Town  Hall, 
and  though  it  was  accepted  only  hy  a  vote  of  367 
against  '360,  the  work  was  accomplished.  On  the 
13th  September,  1742,  the  first  town-meeting  was 
held  there,  and  Faneuil  Hall  was  solemnly  so  entitled. 
(S.  G.  Drake,  Hist.  Boston,  p.  611.)  On  October 
6,  1742,  "  in  conformity  with  a  vote  of  the  Town  for 
removing  the  Town's  Books  and  papers  to  Faneuil 
Hall,  voted  that  the  Town  Clerk  move  said  Books 
and  papers  belonging  to  the  Town,  forthwith,  and 
that  Mr.  Savell  provide  Coal  for  the  selectmen  at 
their  meeting  there  on  Wednesday  next." 

The  first  meeting  of  the  selectmen  there  was  on 
October  13,  1742.     From  this  time  therefore  Faneuil 

^^  In  delivering  this  address  the  words  "royal  arms  "  were  used,  and  are 
therefore  retained.  Evidence  will  be  found  in  Appendix  D  to  justify  the 
opinion  that  the  Lion  and  Unicorn  were  the  supporters  to  the  Province 
coat-of-arnis,  and  that  they  figured  here  in  that  capacity. 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION.  07 

Hall  became  the  Town  Hall,  andllie  building  on 
State  street  became  more  especially  the  place  for  the 
Legislature  and  Courts. 

One  other  vote  of  the  selectmen  at  this  time  mav 
l)e  re2)roduced  as  showing  the  dissatisfaction  of  the 
town:  "May  16,  1744.  In  consideration  of  the 
dilliciilt  circumstances  of  the  Province,  especially  of 
the  Town  of  Boston,  and  the  little  advantage  in 
cleaning  the  glass  at  the  Town  House,  voted  that 
that  expense  and  charge  be  saved  for  the  present 
year." 

A  brief  account  of  Faneuil  Hall  and  its  vicissi- 
tudes will  be  found  in  Appendix  E. 


Having  thus  considered  the  history  of  the  walls  of 
this  building,  let  us  review  the  scenes  which  took 
place  therein.  During  the  administration  of  Shirley 
(1741-1757),  and  of  Pownall  (1757-1760),  the 
colony  was  undoubtedly  loyal.  The  great  expendi- 
tures made  by  England  to  carrj-  out  the  favorite  wish 
of  the  colonists,  by  the  overthrow  of  the  French 
power  in  America,  had  not  only  pleased  but  enriched 
the  sea-board  colonies.  Many  of  our  citizens  served 
with  credit  in  the  various  armies  whic-h  attacked 
Canada ;  many  others  had  served  in  the  navy  or  the 
transport  service,  and  Boston  especially  had  become 
accustomed  to  the  presence  of  English    troops    and 


68  OLD    STATE   HOUSE    RE-DEDICATION. 

Crown  officials.  Shirley  had  identified  himself  with 
the  colony,  had  built  a  house  here  and  reared  a 
family  amid  Bostonian  surroundings.  His  ardor  in 
military  affairs  led  him  to  be  less  strenuous  in  smaller 
civil  matters,  and  he  had  acquiesced  in  such  encroach- 
ments by  the  Legislature  as  restrained  the  power  of 
the  Crown  or  the  influence  of  the  Grovernor. 

Pownall's  short  rule  of  three  years  was  noteworthy 
mainly  for  its  military  record.''* 

In  August,  1760,  Francis  Bernard  arrived  here  to 
succeed  Pownall,  and,  five  months  later,  ncAVS  was 
received  of  the  accession  of  George  III.  With  the 
new  King  and  the  new  Governor  begins  the  closing 
chapter  of  our  colonial  history.  This  is  not  the 
time  to  attempt  to  describe  the  causes  which  led  to 
the  Revolution,  except  in  so  far  as  any  important 
events  took  place  in  this  building-.  Here,  under  this 
roof,  indeed,  were  encamped  the  hostile  forces  of  the 
civil  government.     In  this  room  the  Royal  Governor 

''^  John  Adams  says  (Works,  x.,  241-4),  "  Pownall  was  a  Whig,  a  friend 
of  liberty,  a  lover  of  his  country,  and  he  considered  North  America  a  part 
of  his  country  as  much  as  England,  Scotland,  or  Ireland."  —  "Pownall, 
when  he  came  into  administration,  thought  there  ought  to  be  a  good 
understanding  between  the  capital  and  country,  and  a  harmony  between 
both  and  the  government.  This  conciliatory  and  comprehensive  system 
was  too  refined  and  too  sublime  for  human  nature  in  this  contentious, 
warring  world."  —  "Pownall  was  the  most  constitution.il  and  national 
Governor,  in  my  opinion,  who  ever  represented  the  crown  in  this  province. 
He  engaged  in  no  intrigues,  he  favored  no  conspiracies  against  the  liber- 
ties of  America." 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  69 

and  his  generally  subservient  Council  could  listen  to 
the  apjilause  which  greeted  the  impassioned  elo- 
quence of  the  popular  leaders  of  the  Representatives 
in  the  adjoining  hall,  as  they  gradually  developed  the 
ideas  of  "No  representation,  no  taxation,"  and  "IS^o 
representation,  no  legislation,"  as  Hutchinson  scorn- 
fully termed  them.  (Hist.,  iii.,  104.)  Plow  often 
must  these  lobbies  and  entries  have  been  thronged  by 
the  citizens  of  Boston,  anxious  to  catch  the  latest  in- 
telligence of  royal  obstinacy  or  of  popular  indigna- 
tion! In  those  days  the  press  was  so  circumscribed 
in  its  province,  that  the  ncAvs  was  only  to  be  ob- 
tained by  contact  with  the  actors ;  and  here  was  the 
centre  of  all  that  absorbed  the  attention  of  the  com- 
munity. The  town-meetings  were  held  at  Faneuil 
Hall,^'  and  when  more  room  was  needed,  they  ad- 
journed to  the  Old  South  Church.  Yet,  powerful 
as  was  the  intluence  of  Boston,  the  citizens  could 
only  issue  instructions  to  their  representatives  in  the 
august  body,  which,  in  these  halls,  spoke  in  the 
name  of  the  entire  colony.  It  will  be  necessary  to 
give  a  few  instances  of  the  occurrences  in  these 
apartments,  from  the  evidence  of  the  actors  therein. 

^^  It  is  often  forgotten  that  Faneuil  Hall  prior  to  A.D.  1808  was  much 
smaller  than  it  now  is.  The  addition  of  another  story  and  an  extension  on 
the  south  side  added  greatly  to  the  space.  Of  course  these  changes  have 
not  destroyed  the  identity  of  the  building,  but  they  are  much  greater  than 
those  made  in  these  Memorial  Halls,  where  only  one  wall  has  been  replaced 
in  each  room.     (Consult,  on  this  point,  Appendix  E.  ) 


70  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

In  1761,  soon  after  Bernard's  arrival,  James  Otis, 
Jr.,  aronsecl  the  public  by  his  famous  plea  against 
the  Writs  of  Assistance.  John  Adams  has  ad- 
mirably described  the  scene  in  this  hall,  in  a  letter 
written  to  a  friend  in  1817.  (Life  and  Works,  Yol. 
X.,  pp.  245-248.) 

"The  scene  is  the  Council  chamber  in  the  old  Town  House  in 
Boston.  The  date  is  in  the  month  of  Februniy,  1701,  nine  years 
before  you  entered  my  office  in  Cole  lane.  As  this  was  five  years 
before  j-ou  entered  college,  you  must  have  been  in  the  second 
form  of  Master  Lovell's  school. 

"  That  Council  chamber  was  as  respectable  an  apartment  as  the 
House  of  Commons  or  the  House  of  Lords  in  Great  Britain,  in 
proportion,  or  that  in  the  State  House  in  Philadelphia,  in  which 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed  in  1776.  In  this 
chamber,  round  a  great  fire,  were  seated  five  judges,  with  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Hutchinson  at  their  head  as  Chief  Justice,  all 
arrayed  in  their  new.  fresh,  rich  robes  of  scarlet  English  broad- 
cloth ;   in  their  large  cambric  bands  and  immense  judicial  wigs. 

'•  In  this  chamber  were  seated  at  a  long  taljle  all  the  barristers- 
at-law  of  Boston  and  of  the  neighboring  county  of  Middlesex, 
in  gowns,  bands,  and"  tie  wigs.  They  were  not  seated  on  ivory 
chairs,  but  their  dress  was  more  solemn  and  more  pompous  than 
that  of  the  Roman  Senate,  when  the  Gauls  broke  in  upon  them. 

•'  In  the  corner  of  the  room  must  be  placed  as  a  spectator 
and  an  auditor,  wit,  sense,  imagination,  genius,  pathos,  reason, 
prudence,  eloquence,  learning  and  immense  reading,  hanging 
by  the  shoulders  on  two  crutches,  covered  with  a  great  cloth 
coat,  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Pratt,  who  had  been  solicited  on 
both  sides,  but  would  engage  on  neither,  being,  as  Chief  Justice 
of  New  York,  about  to  leave   Boston  forever.      Two   portraits, 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   KE-DEDICATION.  71 

at  more  thau  full  length,  of  King  Charles  the  Second  and  of 
King-  James  the  Second,  in  uplondid  golden  frames,  weiu  hung 
up  on  the  most  conspicuous  sides  of  the  apartment.  If  my  young 
eyes  or  old  nieniory  liave  not  deceived  mo,  these  were  as  fine  pict- 
ures as  I  ever  saw  ;  tlie  colors  of  the  royal  ermines  and  long, 
flowing  robes  were  the  most  glowing,  the  figures  the  most  noble 
and  graceful,  the  features  the  most  distinct  and  characteristic,  far 
superior  to  those  of  the  king  and  queen  of  France  in  the  Senate 
chamber  of  Congress  —  these  were  worthy  of  the  pencils  of 
Rubens  and  Vandyke.  There  was  no  painter  in  P>ngland  capable 
of  them  at  that  time.  They  had  been  sent  over  without  frames  in 
Governor  Pownall's  time,  but  he  was  no  admirer  of  Charles  or 
James.  The  pictures  were  stowed  away  in  a  garret,  among 
rubbish,  nutil  Governor  Bernard  came,  who  had  them  cleaned, 
superbly  framed,  and  jjlaced  in  council  for  the  admiration  and 
imitation  of  all  men  —  no  doubt  with  the  advice  and  concurrence 
of   Hutchinson   and  all  his  nebula  of  stars  and  satellites. 

'■  One  circumstance  more.  Samuel  Quincy  and  John  Adams  had 
been  admitted  barristers  at  that  term.  John  was  the  j-ouugest ; 
he  should  be  painted  looking  like  a  short,  thick  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  seated  at  the  table  with  a  pen  in  his  hand,  lost  in 
admiration,  now  and  then  minuting  those  poor  notes  which  your 
pupil.  Judge  Minot,  has  printed  in  his  history,  with  some  interpo- 
lations." 

He  then  proceeds  to  describe  the  characters  in  the 
drama,  and  thits  depicts  the  chief  :  — 

"  But  Otis  was  a  flame  of  lire,  ^^'itll  a  promptitude  of  classical 
allusions,  a  depth  of  research,  a  rapid  summary  of  historical 
events  and  dates,  a  profusion  of  legal  authorities,  a  prophetic 
glance  of  his  eye  into  futurity,  and  a  torrent  of  impetuous 
eloquence,  he    hurried    away  everything   before    him.     American 


72  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

independence  was  then  and  there  born  ;  the  seeds  of  patriots  and 
heroes  were  then  and  there  sown,  to  defend  the  vigorous  youth, 
the  non  sine  Diis  animosus  infans.  Every  man  of  a  crowded 
audience  appeared  to  me  to  go  away,  as  I  did,  ready  to  take 
arms  against  writs  of  assistance.  Then  and  there  was  the  first 
scene  of  the  first  act  of  opposition  to  the  arbitrary  claims  of  Great 
Britain.     Then  and  there  the  child  Independence  was  born." 

The  immediate  result  was  a  modification  of  the 
form  of  the  writs;  but  the  greater  consequence  was 
tlie  prominence  of  Otis,  and  the  attention  called  to 
the  oppressive  character  of  the  English  revenue  laws 
when  applied  to  this  country. 

A  lull  succeeded  in  the  political  atmosphere  for 
the  next  two  years,  and  the  news  of  the  peace  with 
France,  received  here  in  May,  1763,  was  joyfully 
welcomed.  Soon,  however,  the  clouds  gathered, 
indicative  of  the  coming  storm.  The  vast  expense 
of  the  war  rendered  new  taxes  inevitable;  unfor- 
tunately, the  consideration  of  the  renewal  of  a  tax 
which  had  just  expired,  —  one  on  the  importation 
of  molasses  into  the  colonies,  —  led  the  Grenville 
ministry  to  determine  "to  raise  by  a  stamj?  duty, 
or  in  some  other  way,  a  sum  from  America,  sufficient 
to  ease  government  in  part  from  the  future  charges 
which  might  be  necessary  there."  (Hutchinson,  iii., 
109.) 

In  April,  1765,  news  was  received  of  the  passage 
of   the    act,   and    popular   opposition   was   at   once 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  73 

excited.  On  the  birthday  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
Angnst  12,  it  was  concerted  to  hang  the  appointed 
distributor  of  stamps  in  effigy.  This  was  done  two 
days  hiter,  the  miage  being  suspended  from  the 
Liberty  Tree,  which  stood  on  tlie  corner  of  Essex 
and  Wasliiugton  streets.  The  Council  was  hastily 
assembled,  but  prudently  advised  that  nothing  be 
done,  hoping  that  the  matter  would  end  there. 

"Before  night  the  image  was  taken  down,  and  carried  through 
the  Town  House,  in  the  elianiber  whereof  tlie  Governor  and 
Council  were  sitting.  Forty  or  fifty  tradesmen,  decentl)'  dressed, 
preceded  ;  and  some  thousands  of  the  moli  followed  down  King 
street  to  Oliver's  dock,  near  which  Mr.  Oliver  had  lately  erected 
a  building,  which,  it  was  conjectured,  he  designed  for  a  stamp 
office.  This  was  laid  flat  to  the  ground  in  a  few  minutes.  From 
thence  the  mob  proceeded  for  Fort  Hill,  but  Mr.  Oliver's  house 
being  in  the  way,  they  endeavored  to  force  themselves  into  it,  aud 
being  opposed,  broke  the  windows,  beat  down  the  doors,  entered, 
and  destroyed  part  of  his  furniture,  and  continued  in  riot  until 
midnight  liefore  they  separated."     (Hutchinson,  iii.,  121.) 

On  the  evening  of  August  26  a  mob  collected  in 
King  street,  "  draAvn  thei-e  by  a  bonfire,  and  Avell 
supplied  with  strong  drink."  They  plundered  the 
cellai's  of  the  comptroller  of  customs,  and  then 
marched  to  the  house  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  in  Gar- 
den court,  near  Fleet  street,  where,  all  night  long, 
undisturbed  by  the  frightened  neighborhood,  the  work 
of  destruction  went  on.  These  inexcusable  outras^es 
were  iiromptly  disavowed  in  town-meeting,  and  most 


74  OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

probably  were  the  woi"k  of  those  turbulent  and  law- 
less men  who  always  appear  whenever  authority  is 
suspended,  to  dishonoi-  and  injure  the  cause  they 
nominally  support. 

When  the  Legislature  met,  on  Octoljer  24,  1765, 
Boston  was  represented  by  a  new  member,  —  Samuel 
Adams,  —  then  first  the  recipient  of  high  office,  but 
already  a  leader  among  the  advocates  of  independ- 
ence. Otis  was  in  Xew  York,  attending  a  conven- 
tion of  delegates  from  the  various  colonies,  which 
had  been  convoked  by  royal  authority.  The  difter- 
ence  in  the  political  views  of  these  leaders  was 
marked,  though  it  did  not  prevent  their  unison  in 
many  points.  Otis  believed  that  Parliament  was  su- 
preme, but  that  the  Colonies  were  entitled  to  rejire- 
sentation  therein.  Adams  "professed  principles, 
which  he  owned  without  reserve  in  private  discourse, 
to  be  independency;  and,  from  time  to  time,  he  made 
advances  towards  it  in  publick,  as  far  as  would  serve 
the  great  purpose  of  attaining  to  it.  To  his  influence 
may  be  attriljuted  the  great  advance  made  in  this 
session."  (Hutchinson,  iii.,  134.)  On  the  29th  of 
October,  in  the  adjoining  hall,  the  House  passed  the 
famous  Resolves,  prepared  b}^  Samuel  Adams,  one  of 
which  declares,  "  That  all  acts  made  by  any  power 
whatever,  other  than  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
Province,  imposing  taxes  on  the  inhabitants,  are 
infringements  of  our  inherent  and  unalienable  rights 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION.  Ti) 

as  men  and  British   subjects,   and  rendei-  void  the 
most  valuable  declarations  of  our  charter." 

To  be  sm*e,  this  was  coupled  with  a  declai'ation  of 
loyalty  to  the  Crown  and  to  Pai'liament;  but  the  fii'st 
resolve  contained  a  political  truth,  and  the  last  a 
politic  profession. 

On  May  16,  1766,  the  news  of  the  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act  was  received  here,  and  caused  universal 
rejoicing.  In  September  the  Eockingham-Shelburne 
ministry  came  into  power,  and  was  believed  to  be 
friendly  to  the  Colonies.  The  Governor  here  had 
several  disputes  with  the  Legislature,  the  Council 
displayed  unusual  independence,  and  the  influence  of 
Adams,  now  promoted  to  the  office  of  Clerk  of  the 
House,'^^  was  steadily  on  the  increase.  The  same  state 
of  affairs  characterized  the  whole  of  the  following 
year,  1767,  until,  in  the  autumn,  news  was  received 
of  the  passage  of  an  act  levying  "small  duties  on 
paper,  glass,  and  jDainters'  colors,  imported  into 
America;  to  take  off  12d.,  which  had  been  charged 
in  England  on  every  pound  of  tea  exported,  and  to 
lay  3d.  only,  payable  upon  its  importation  into 
America."  (Hutchinson,  iii.,  179.)  Commissioners 
were  appointed  to  enforce  the  customs'  laws,  and  an 

°'  "The  office  having  some  emolument,  it  had  generally  been  filled  by  one 
of  the  members,  who  took  the  same  share  in  debating  and  voting  as  if 
he  had  not  been  clerk,  and  rather  acquired  than  lost  influence  by  being  so." 

(Hutchinson,  iii.,  148.) 


76  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

act  was  passed  legalizing  the  writs  of  assistance, 
under  which  search  was  made  for  smuggled  goods. 

In  Februaiy,  1768,  the  House  passed  a  bill  order- 
ing letters  to  be  written  to  the  other  colonies,  "  with 
respect  to  the  importance  of  joining  with  them  in 
petitioning  His  Majesty  at  this  time."  This  wae 
Adams'  measure,  —  a  potent  weapon  in  the  coming 
conflict.  Another  resolve  was,  "that  this  House  will, 
by  all  prudent  means,  endeavor  to  discountenance 
the  use  of  foreign  superfluities,  and  to  encourage  the 
manufactures  of  this  Province." 

The  English  government  demanded  the  rescinding 
the  vote  authorizing  the  Circular  Letter,  but  the 
House,  by  a  vote  of  92  to  17,  refused  obedience, 
"  The  galleries  were  cleai'ed,  and  all  communication 
with  the  other  Board  or  from  the  outside,  was  shut 
off  during  the  debate."  (Life  of  S.  Adams,  i.,  iii.) 
Even  a  committee  of  the  Council,  Avith  certain  reso- 
lutions of  that  branch,  was  refused  admittance. 

The  House  was  prorogued  the  same  day,  and 
dissolved  the  next  day,  but  not  till  it  had  passed  an 
address  to  the  King,  asking  for  the  removal  of  Gov- 
ernor Bernard. 

An  ill-advised  measure  at  this  time  added  to  the 
popular  discontent.  Owing  to  Bernard's  representa- 
tions, it  had  been  decided  that  one  or  two  regiments 
should  be  sent  from  Halifax  to  Boston.  On  heai'ing 
of  the  riots  here,  the  government  in  England  ordered 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION.  i  < 

two  more  regiments  from  Ireland.  Tlie  news  of  the 
first  order  was  received  in  Boston  abont  the  begin- 
ning of  September,  1768,  and,  as  the  Legishiture  was 
not  expected  to  meet  for  a  year,  the  town-meeting  of 
Boston  took  action.  On  learning  from  the  Governoi" 
that  the  troops  were  soon  to  arrive, —  one  regiment 
for  the  Castle  and  two  for  the  town,  —  the  meeting 
voted  to  hold  a  convention  on  September  22,  of 
delegates  fi-om  all  the  othei-  towns,  "  in  order  that 
snch  measures  may  be  concerted  and  advised,  as  His 
Majesty's  service  and  the  peace  and  safety  of  his 
subjects  in  the  province  may  require."  As  Hutchin- 
son says  (Hist.,  iii.,  205),  "it  must  be  allowed  by  all, 
that  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  had  a  greater 
tendency  towards  a  revolution  in  government  than 
any  preceding  measures  in  any  of  the  colonies.  The 
inhabitants  of  one  town  alone  took  upon  them  to 
convene  an  assembh^  from  all  the  towns,  that,  in 
everything  but  in  name,  would  be  a  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives." A  most  just  comment;  and  let  us 
to-day  be  proud  of  the  fact  that  the  town  thus 
assuming  the  lead  was  Boston.  Although  the  result 
of  the  meeting,  which  was  duly  held  at  Faneuil  Hall, 
was  not  as  tangible  as  was  hoped,  it  showed  the 
colonists  how  to  proceed  towards  a  rebellion  whilst 
preserving  the  forms  of  laAV.  The  convention  ad- 
journed September  29,  the  day  after  the  tleet  and 
soldiers  reached  Xantasket.     The  troops,  amounting 


78  OLD    STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

to  one  tliousand  men,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dal- 
rymple,  landed  without  opposition.  One  regiment 
pitched  their  tents  on  the  Common;  the  others 
were  marched  to  Faneuil  Hall,  and,  after  some  dis- 
pute, were  sheltered  there  for  one  night.  "  The  next 
day.  Gov.  Bernard  ordered  the  doors  of  the  Town 
House  to  be  opened,  except  that  of  the  Council 
Chamber;  and  such  part  were  lodged  there  as  Fan- 
euil Hall  rooms  would  not  accommodate.  The  rep- 
resentatives' room  was  filled,  in  common  with  the 
rest."     (Hutchinson,  iii.,  212.) 

Gen.  Gage  was  summoned  from  IS^ew  York,  and 
the  Council  attempted  to  find  a  way  to  satisfy  both 
sides.  The  result  Avas  that  houses  were  hired  for  the 
troops,  but  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Town 
House.  The  quartering  of  troops  at  this  spot  was 
felt  keenly  by  the  province.  The  next  town-meeting 
demanded  of  Gen.  Mackay,  then  in  coimnand,  the 
removal  of  the  troops  on  election  day.  He  replied 
that  he  could  not  do  this,  but  would  confine  them  to 
their  barracks.  When  the  Legislature  met,  in  May, 
1769,  its  first  work,  after  organizing,  was  to  resolve 
that,  "an  amiament  by  sea  and  land  investing  the 
metropolis,  and  a  military  guard,  with  cannon  pointed 
at  the  very  door  of  the  State  House;,  where  this  As- 
sembly is  held,  is  inconsistent  with  that  dignity,  as 
well  as  that  freedom,  with  which  we  have  a  right  to 
deliberate,   consult,   and   determine."      They   added 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  79 

tliat  they  expected  the  Governor  to  order  the  removal 
of  these  forces  during  the  session  of  the  Assembly. 
As  they  refused  to  transact  business  vvrhile  the  troops 
remained,  and  as  the  Grovernor  would  not  consent,  he 
adjourned  the  Legislature  to  Cambridge.  Finally, 
two  regiments  were  sent  back  to  Haliftix,  the  14th 
and  29th  remaining  here. 

Another  deeply  exciting  trial  at  this  time  inten- 
sified the  popular  indignation. 

April  22,  1769,  a  press-gang  from  the  "  Rose " 
frigate,  under  Lieut.  Panton,  boarded  a  ship  owned 
by  Mr.  Hooj^er,  of  Marblehead,  on  her  return  from 
Bilboa.  Michael  Corbet  and  three  others  resisted, 
and  the  officer,  Panton,  was  shot.  Hence  a  trial  in 
Jul}^,  by  a  special  Court  of  Admiralty,  of  these  four 
sailors  on  a  charge  of  piracy  and  murder.  John 
Adams  (Works,  X.,  205-207)  says,  that  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  trial,  on  the  presentation  of  the  prisoners' 
pleas,  Hutchinson  moved  "  that  the  Court  should 
adjourn  to  the  Council  Chamber."  "  The  pi'isoners 
were  remanded;  parties,  Avitnesses,  counsel,  audience, 
dismissed;  and  the  Court  adjourned  to  the  Council 
Chamber,  where  they  remained  in  secret  conclave 
till  late  in  the  evening." 

"  The  Court  met  again  early  next  morning,  in 
secret  conclave  in  the  Council  Chamber."  The  plea 
of  the  defence  was,  that  the  act  was  justified  homi- 
cide, and  this  was  the  decision  of  the  Court. 


80  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

Adams  adds,  "  One  circumstance  is  too  charac- 
teristic to  be  omitted.  The  counsel  for  the  prisoners, 
descending  from  the  chamber  where  the  Court  sat,  to 
the  lower  floor  of  the  Court  House,  was  met  at  the 
bottom  of  the  stairs  by  the  boatswain  of  the  '  Rose.' 
"  Su','  said  he,  '  we  are  all  greatly  obliged  to  you 
for  your  noble  conduct  in  defence  of  these  brave 
fellows;  yet,  sir,  this  is  the  employment  in  which 
I  have  been  almost  constantly  engaged  for  twenty 
years,  fighting  with  honest  men  to  deprive  them  of 
their  liberty.  I  always  thought  I  ought  to  be 
hanged  for  it,  and  now  I  know  it." 

Bernard  was  recalled,  and  sailed  on  July  31, 
1769,  amid  demonstrations  of  popular  joy.  By 
his  departure  the  duties  devolved  upon  Thomas 
Hutchinson,  the  lieutenant-governor,  a  native  of 
Boston,  a  man  of  fortune  and  eminent  abilities, 
but  already  distasteful  to  his  fellow-citizens  as  the 
ablest  defender  of  the  royalist  views  in  the  colony. 
He  came  to  the  command  in  times  which  were  daily 
becoming  more  turbulent,  and,  having  persistently 
taken  the  part  of  the  Crown,  he  has  justly  forfeited 
all  claims  to  the  respect  of  the  descendants  of  the 
rebels. 

During  the  autumn  of  1769  the  bitter  feeling 
between  the  colonists  and  the  loyalists  rapidly 
increased.  James  Otis  was  dangerously  wounded 
in  an  aftVav  with    a    Crown    officer    in    the    British 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE   ]{E-DED1CATI0N.  81 

Coftee  House,  which  stood  on  State  street,  at  the 
present  ISTo.  66.  It  is  probable  that  the  violence 
he  then  received  completed  the  overthrow  of  his 
intellect,  and,  thenceforward,  he  ceased  to  lead  in 
public  affairs.  On  the  22d  of  February,  1770,  a 
local  riot  led  to  the  shooting-,  by  one  Richardson, 
of  a  boy  named  Christopher  Snyder,  the  first  vic- 
tim to  the  evil  passions  excited  by  the  state  of 
affairs. 

The  merchants  of  the  town  had  been  nearly 
unanimous  in  giving  effect  to  the  popular  wish  to 
prevent  the  importation  of  English  goods,  although 
the  taxes  had  been  taken  off  of  all  imports  except 
tea.  Early  in  1770,  however,  a  new  tiu'n  Avas  given 
to  popular  thought,  by  Avhat  is  known  as  the  State- 
street  Massacre.  From  these  windows  we  overlook 
the  scene  of  this  famous  event,  but  it  has  been  too 
often  described  to  need  more  than  the  briefest 
reference.  A  fight  between  the  soldiers  and  the 
workmen  at  Gray's  ropewalk,  on  March  2,  1770, 
had  raised  a  i-esentment  in  the  minds  of  the  troops, 
which  led  to  fatal  I'esults.  On  Monday  evening, 
March  5th,  the  soldiers  began  to  show  signs  of 
insubordination.  In  and  around  their  barracks,  in 
Dock  square,  they  assailed  the  passers-by  with 
threats  and  blows.  The  boys  of  the  town  rang 
the  bell  in  the  First  Church,  and  tlie  citizens  began 
to    throng    towards    the    Town     House.      A    large 


82  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

crowd  g-athered  in  Dock  square,  for,  in  those  days, 
a  few  minutes'  walk  would  bring  every  householder 
to  the  centre  of  the  town.  Here  a  leader,  pre- 
sumably William  Molineaux,  advised  the  people  to 
disperse  —  a  counsel  followed  by  part,  while  others 
started  for  State  street.  The  Custom  House  stood 
at  the  corner  of  State  and  Exchange  streets,  and 
there  a  sentinel  was  posted.  A  crowd  of  boys 
assaulted  him  with  snowballs,  until  a  messenger 
was  sent  hastily  to  the  guard-house  near  by.  Some 
seven  or  eight  men,  under  Capt.  Preston,  at  once 
rushed  to  the  relief  of  the  guard,  loaded  quickly, 
and  stood  at  bay.  The  mob  pressed  upon  them, 
striking  their  muskets,  and  otherwise  insulting 
them,  being  evidently'  of  the  belief  that  the  soldiers 
would  not  fire.  The  order  was  given  to  present 
arms,  and  then  to  fire,  though  it  was  never  dis- 
covered who  gave  the  fatal  word.  A  rambling  fire 
by  the  guard,  at  these  close  quarters,  killed  three 
persons  and  wounded  eight  others. 

At  once  the  partisans  of  each  side  rushed  to  the 
spot.  The  soldiers  were  drawn  ujj  in  order  of 
battle,  but  remained  under  the  control  of  their 
officers.  The  bells  of  the  churches  aroused  the 
alarmed  inhabitants,  who  thronged  the  street  to 
gaze  upon  the  blood-stained  snow,  which  testified 
to  the  awful  tragedy.  A  few  hastened  to  summon 
Gov.  Hutchinson,  who,  "  to  satisfy  the  people,  called 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  83 

for  Captain  Preston,  and  inquired  Avliy  he  iired 
upon  the  inhabitants  Avithout  the  direction  of  a 
civil  magistrate.  The  noise  was  s<j  great  tliat  his 
answer  eonld  not  be  nndei'stood,  and  some,  who 
were  ap^irehensive  of  tlie  lieutenant-governor's  dan- 
ger from  the  general  confusion,  called  out,  '  The 
Town  House!  the  Town  House!'  and,  with  iire- 
sistible  violence,  he  was  forced  up  by  the  crowd 
into  the  Council  Chamber.  There,  demand  was 
immediately  made  of  him  to  order  the  troops  to 
withdraw  from  the  Town  House  to  their  barracks. 
He  refused  to  comply,  and,  calling  from  the  bal- 
cony, to  the  great  body  of  peoj)le  Avhich  remained 
in  the  street,  he  expressed  his  great  concern  at  the 
unhappy  event,  assured  them  he  would  do  every- 
thing in  his  power  in  order  to  a  full  and  impartial 
inquiry,  that  the  law  might  have  its  course,  and 
advised  them  to  go  peaceably  to  their  several 
homes.  Upon  this  there  was  a  cry,  'Home!  home! 
and  a  great  part  separated  and  went  home.'"  — 
(Hutchinson,  iii.,  273.) 

Captain  Preston  and  the  soldiers  implicated  sur- 
rendered themselves  before  morning,  and  were  com- 
mitted to  prison.  This  was  not  sufficient  to  satisfy 
the  people,  and  a  town-meeting  was  held  in  Paneuil 
Hall.  The  selectmen  had  already  waited  upon 
Hutchinson,  in  this  chamber,  to  demand  the  removal 
of  the  troops  from  the  town.      He  repeated  that  he 


84  OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

had  not  the  power,  but  summoned  Colonels  Dal- 
ryrnple  and  Can-  to  confer  with  the  Council. 

When  the  selectmen  reached  the  meeting  Samuel 
Adams  addressed  it.  A  connnittee  of  fifteen,  headed 
by  Adams,  proceeded  to  the  Council  Chamber  to 
repeat  the  demand  for  the  i-emoval  of  the  troops. 
Tlje  committee  presented  its  message  and  withdrew 
into  another  room  to  wait  for  an  answer.  Dalrymple 
consented  to  withdraw  the  29th  Regiment  to  the 
Castle,  and  the  Council  adjourned  till  the  afternoon, 
in  hopes  that  the  concession  would  j^rove  enough. 

At  thi'ee  o'clock  the  town-meeting  reassembled, 
but  adjourned  to  the  Old  South  Church  to  accommo- 
date the  increasing  crowds.  "The  committee,  led 
by  Samuel  Adams,  his  head  bared  in  reverence  to 
the  occasion,  and  his  gray  locks  flowing  in  the  wind, 
issued  from  the  Council  Chamber."  Through  a 
crowd  reaching  to  the  church  the  committee  silently 
passed,  and,  in  the  presence  of  three  thousand  eager 
listeners,  the  proposal  of  the  royal  Governor  was 
announced.  It  was  at  once  voted  to  be  insufficient, 
and  a  new  committee,  with  the  same  leader,  Avas 
appointed  to  make  a  final  demand. 

John  Adams  (Life  and  Works,  Yol.  X.,  p.  249) 
has  eloquently  described  the  scene  in  the  following 
words :  — 

"Now  for  the  picture.  Tlie  theatre  aucl  the  scenerj'  are  the 
same  with  those  at  the  discussion  of  writs  of   assistance.     The 


5amuel_';adams 


OLD    STATE    HOrSK   l?E-nEDICATrON.  85 

same  glorious  portraits  of  King  Charlos  II.  and  King  .Tamos  TI., 
to  wliifh  inigiit  be  addi'cl,  and  should  bo  added,  little  miserable 
likenesses  of  Governor  Winthrop,  Governor  Bradstreot,  Governor 
Endicott,  and  Governor  Belelier,  hung  up  in  obscure  corners  of  the 
room.  Lieutenant-Governor  Hutchinson,  Commander-iu-Cliief  in 
the  absence  of  the  Governor,  must  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
council  table.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dalrymple,  C'onnnander-in-Chief 
of  His  Majest3''s  military  forces,  taking  rank  of  all  His  Majesty's 
counsellors,  must  be  seated  by  the  side  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
and  Commander-iu-Chief  of  the  province.  Eight  and  twenty 
counsellors  must  be  painted,  all  seated  at  the  council  board.  Let 
me  see  —  what  costume  ?  What  was  the  fashion  of  that  day  in  the 
month  of  March  ?  Large  white  wigs,  English  scarlet  cloth  cloaks, 
some  of  them  with  gold-laced  hats,  not  on  their  heads,  indeed,  in  so 
august  a  presence,  but  on  the  table  before  them,  or  under  the  table 
beneath  them.  Before  these  illustrious  personages  appeared 
Samuel  Adams,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
their  clerk,  now  at  the  head  of  the  eonnnittee  of  the  great 
assembly  at  the  Old  South  Church." 

"  Such  was  the  situation  of  affairs  when  Samuel  Adams  was 
reasoning  with  Lieutenant-Governor  Hutchinson  and  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Dalrymple.  He  had  fairly  driven  them  from  all  their  out- 
works, breastworks,  and  intrenchments  to  theii-  citadel.  There 
they  paused  and  considered  and  deliberated.  The  heads  of 
Hutchinson  and  Dalrymple  were  laid  together  in  whispers  for  a 
long  time  ;  when  the  whispering  ceased,  a  long  and  solemn  pause 
ensued,  extremely  painful  to  an  impatient,  expecting  audience. 
Hutchinson,  in  time,  broke  silence;  he  had  consulted  with 
Colonel  Dalrymple,  and  the  Colonel  had  authorized  him  to  say 
that  he  might  order  one  regiment  down  to  the  Castle,  if  that  would 
satisfy  the  people.  With  a  self-recollection,  a  self-possession,  a 
self-command,  a  presence  of  mind  that  was  admired  by  every  man 
present,  Samuel   Adams  arose  with  an  aii-  of  dignity  and  majesty 


86  OLD    STATE    HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

of  which  he  was  sometimes  cap;>l)le,  stretched  forth  his  arm, 
though  even  then  quivering  with  palsy,  and  with  an  harmonious 
voice  and  decisive  toue  said,  '  If  the  Lieutenant-Governor  or 
Colonel  Dalrymple,  or  both  together,  have  authority  to  remove 
one  regiment,  they  have  authority  to  remove  two,  and  nothing 
short  of  the  total  evacuation  of  the  town  by  all  the  regular  troops 
will  satisfy  the  public  mind  or  preserve  the  peace  of  the  province.' 
"  These  few  words  thrilled  the  veins  of  every  man  in  the 
audience,  and  produced  the  great  result.  After  a  little  awlcward 
hesitation  it  was  agreed  that  the  town  should  be  evacuated  and 
both  regiments  sent  to  the  Castle." 

Hutchinson's  own  account  of  the  affair  agrees 
substantially  with  this,  though  throwing  the  respon- 
sibility upon  Col.  Dalrjanple.  On  March  10  and 
11  the  two  regiments  were  removed  to  the  Castle. 


Surely  such  an  event  as  this  must  render  this  hall 
forever  memorable.  Whatever  else  had  been  done, 
at  other  times  and  places,  here  was  taken  the  first 
open  step  toward  successful  rebellion.  A  govern- 
ment which  removes  its  military  force  from  a  fort, 
a  town,  or  a  province,  at  the  demand  of  its  subjects, 
can  hope  to  regain  its  ascendanc}^  in  the  future  only 
by  the  disj^lay  of  an  irresistible  armament  in  the 
same  place.  Hutchinson,  who  well  understood  the 
position,  wrote  to  a  friend,  in  March,  1770:  "The 
body  of  the  people  are  all  of  a  mind,  and  there  is 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  87 

no  stemming  the  torrent.  It  is  the  common  hm- 
guage  of  Adams  and  the  rest,  that  they  are  not 
to  be  intimidated  by  acts  of  Parhament,  for  they 
will  not  be  executed  here.  .  .  .  We  are  most 
certainly    every    da}^    confirming    ourselves    in    oui' 

principles  of  independence  ;  and tells  me  he 

is  fully  convinced  that  nothing  but  sharp  external 
force  will  bring  Boston  into  a  state  of  due  subordi- 
nation."    (Life  of  S.  Adams,  i.,  335.) 

The  Legislature  was  convened  in  March,  1770, 
at  Cambridge,  despite  their  protest  that  the  writs 
specified  that  the  meeting  was  "  to  be  held  at  the 
Town  House  in  Boston."  Samuel  Adams,  John 
Adams,  John  Hancock,  and  Joseph  Hawley,  were 
the  leaders  in  the  House,  ably  assisted  by  James 
Bowdoin  in  the  Council. 

In  October  the  trial  of  Capt.  Preston  and  his 
soldiers  was  held  in  this  hall,  John  Adams  and 
Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  acting  as  their  coimsel,  and 
Preston  was  fully  acquitted.  Two  of  the  soldiers 
were  convicted  of  manslaughter. 

"  The  trials  were  far  from  satisfactory  to  the  prose- 
cutors ;  and,  in  a  short  time,  a  great  part  of  the 
people  were  induced  to  believe  the  acquittals  unjust 
and  contrary  to  evidence  ;  and  the  killing  of  the  men 
was  declared  to  be  a  horrid  massacre,  with  the  same 
freedom  as  if  the  jury  had  found  those  concerned  in 
it  guilty   of  murder.     A    few    days  after  the    trial, 


88  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DKDICATION, 

while  the  Court  contimied  to  sit,  an  incendiary  paper 
was  posted  up,  in  the  night,  upon  the  door  of  the 
Town  House,  comphiining  of  tlie  Court  for  cheating 
the  injured  peojjle  with  a  show  of  justice,  and  calling 
upon  them  to  rise  and  free  the  world  from  such 
domestick  tyrants."     (Hutchinson,  iii.,  330.) 

The  removal  of  the  train-band  from  the  Castle 
and  its  delivery  to  the  royal  forces,  was  another 
groimd  of  oflfence  to  the  colonists. 

In  March,  1771,  Hutchinson's  commission  as 
Governor  arrived,  and  he  met  the  Legislature  at 
Cambi"idge  as  before.  In  the  preceding  year  he  had 
vetoed  the  election  of  eleven  of  his  Council,  as  they 
were  of  the  popular  side.  In  this  year  he  accepted 
them  all,  except  John  Hancock  and  Jeratlnneel 
Bowers.  The  reported  disagreement  between  Han- 
cock and  Adams,  and  the  fact  that  the  latter  was 
opposed  in  his  election  in  May,  1772,  by  two  hundred 
and  eighteen  votes  in  seven  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  at  the  Boston  meeting,  probably  influenced  the 
Governor  to  allow  the  Legislature,  in  1772,  to  return 
to  its  old  apartments  in  this  building. 

As  I  confine  myself  to  what  was  done  liere,  I  pass 
over  the  various  events  which  tended  to  hasten  the 
final  rupture.  But  it  was  in  the  adjoining  hall,  after 
ordering  the  galleries  to  be  cleared,  that  Samuel 
Adams  produced  those  confidential  letters  of  Hutch- 
inson to  his  English  friends,  which   convinced  the 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION,  89 

public  that  there  was  no  safety  for  any  of  the 
opponents  of  the  government. 

In  1773  it  became  known  that  the  experiment  was 
to  be  made  of  shipping  tea  to  this  conntr}^  and  of 
collecting  the  duty  upon  it. 

On  November  28,  1773,  the  tea  arrived,  and,  as 
Hutchinson  bitterly  remarks,  "while  the  Governor 
and  Council  were  sitting  on  the  Monday  in  the  Coun- 
cil Chamber,  and  known  to  be  consulting  upon  means 
for  preserving  the  peace  of  the  town,  several  thou- 
sands, inhabitants  of  Boston  and  other  towns,  were 
assembled  in  a  publick  meeting-house,  at  a  small 
distance,  in  direct  opjDOsition  and  defiance."  We  all 
know  the  result :  that,  after  exhausting  all  peaceable 
means  for  the  return  of  the  "  detested  herb,"  a  body 
of  patriots,  illegally  but  rightly,  took  the  responsi- 
bility of  consigning  three  hundred  and  forty-two 
chests  of  tea  to  the  waves  of  Boston  Harbor.  "  This 
was  the  boldest  stroke  which  had  yet  been  struck  in 
America.  .  .  .  Their  leaders  feared  no  consequences. 
.  .  .  They  had  gone  too  far  to  recede.  If  the  colo- 
nies were  subject  to  the  supreme  authority  and  laws 
of  Great  Britain,  their  offences  long  since  had  been 
of  the  highest  nature.  .  .  .  And  it  is  certain  that, 
ever  after  this  time,  an  opinion  was  easily  instilled, 
and  was  constantly  increasing,  that  the  body  of  the 
people  had  also  gone  too  far  to  recede,  and  that  an 
open  and  general  revolt    must  be  the  consequence; 

-     1 


90  OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

and  it  was  not  long  l^efore  actual  preparation*  were 
visibly  making  for  it  in  most  parts  of  the  province." 
(Hutchinson,  iii.,  439.) 

Of  course  this  proceeding  could  not  be  ignored  by 
Parhament,  and,  in  March,  1774,  the  Boston  Port 
Bill,  closing  the  port  during  the  pleasure  of  the  King, 
was  passed,  with  other  acts  taking  all  the  power 
from  the  people  or  their  rej^resentatives,  and  giving 
it  to  the  Crown.  Pei'sons  accused  of  rioting  could 
be  sent  to  England  for  ti-ial,  and  special  orders  were 
given  for  the  arrest  of  Samuel  Adams  and  other 
leaders. 

On  May  17,  1774,  Thomas  Gage,  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  all  the  troops  in  this  country,  arrived  in 
Boston,  commissioned  as  Governor  of  the  province. 
Landing  at  Long  Wharf,  he  Avas  escorted  up  State 
street  by  the  Boston  Cadets,  under  the  command  of 
Hancock.  In  this  hall  he  was  duly  sworn  into  office, 
and  from  the  balcony  the  usual  proclamation  was  made. 

The  last  session  of  the  Legislature  held  under  the 
royal  government  was  at  Salem,  on  June  7,  1774.  It 
was  dissolved  on  the  17th,  after  it  had  provided  for 
the  appointment  of  James  Bowdoin,  Thomas  Gush- 
ing, Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams,  and  Robert  Treat 
Paine,  as  delegates  to  the  Congress  to  be  held  at 
Philadelphia.  Thenceforward  the  old  government 
was  extinct.  In  the  following  year  a  Provincial 
Congress,  elected  by  the  people,  assembled  at  Water- 


OLD   STATE  HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  91 

town,  to  exercise  powers  acknowledged  Ijy  all  the 
citizens  of  the  new  State.  In  Boston,  the  royal  Gov- 
ernor, with  his  select  board  of  thirty  counsellors, 
appointed  by  himself,  kept  up  for  a  while  the  farce  of 
civic  government.  The  true  authority  was  in  his 
hands  as  commanding"  the  troops,  and  his  official 
residence  was  at  the  Pi'ovince  House,  opposite  the 
head  of  Milk  sti-eet. 

Hardly  anything  is  on  record  in  regard  to  the 
Town  House  during  the  siege.  It  is  stated  that  it 
Avas  used  as  a  barracks ;  certainly,  after  the  evacua- 
tion of  the  town,  no  complaint  Avas  made  of  any 
injuiy  done  to  it  l)y  the  troops.^*  On  the  19th  of 
April,  1775,  the  battle  of  Lexington  was  fought;  on 
the  17th  of  June  following,  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 
On  the  10th  October,  1775,  Gage  was  recalled  to 
England,  and,  during  his  absence.  Gen.  Howe  com- 

•^As  an  evidence  of  the  demoralization  during  the  last  few  days  of 
British  rule,  when  private  houses  were  openly  robbed  by  Crean  and  his 
Tory  associates,  we  find  that  on  March  14,  1"7(),  Gen  Howe  issued  the 
following  proclamation :  — 

"  The  commander-in-chief,  finding,  notwithstanding  former  orders  that 
have  been  given  to  forbid  plundering,  houses  have  been  forced  open  and 
robbed,  he  is  therefore  under  a  necessity  of  declaring  to  the  troops  that 
the  first  soldier  who  is  caught  plundering  will   be   hanged  on  the  spot. 

"  The  commander-in-chief,  having  been  informed  that  depredations  have 
been  committed  in  the  Town  House,  offers  the  following  rewards  to  any 
person  or  persons  who  shall  convict  any  person  or  persons  of  cutting 
and  defacing  the  King's  and  Queen's  picture,  and  destroying  the  records  and 
other  public  papers,  viz.:  For  the  King's  picture,  £50;  for  the  Queen's 
picture,   £50;   for  other  pictures,  records,  and  public  papers,   £20." 


92  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

manded  on  the  sea-board,  and  Gen.  Carleton  in 
Canada.  On  the  17th  of  March,  1776,  the  British 
troops  evacuated  the  town;  and,  on  the  20th,  the 
main  body  of  the  American  army  marched  in. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  the  citizens  of  Boston 
held  a  regular  meeting  for  the  election  of  town 
officers,  in  the  Old  Brick  Church,  Faneuil  Hall 
having  been  fitted  up  as  a  theatre  by  the  British 
officers. 

On  the  18th  of  July,  1776,  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  "  was  made  iDublic,  with  great  parade 
and  exultation,  from  the  balcony  on  the  east  end."  ^ 

'''"Thursday  last,  pursuant  to  the  order  of  the  Honorable  Council,  was 
proclaimed  from  the  balcony  of  the  State  House  in  this  town  the  Declara- 
tion, of  the  American  Congress,  absolving  the  United  Colonies  from  their 
allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  declaring  them  free  and  independent 
mates.  There  were  present  on  the  occasion  in  the  council  chamber  a 
committee  of  council,  a  number  of  the  Honorable  House  of  Representatives, 
the  magistrates,  selectmen,  and  other  gentlemen  of  Boston  and  the  neigh- 
boring towns,  also  the  commission  officers  of  the  Continentiil  regiments 
stationed  here,  and  other  officers.  Two  of  these  regiments  were  under 
arms  in  King  street,  formed  into  three  lines  on  the  north  side  of  the  street 
and  in  tliirteen  divisions,  and  a  detachment  from  the  Massachusetts  regi- 
ment of  artillery,  with  two  pieces  of  cannon,  was  on  their  right  wing. 
At  one  o'clock  the  Declaration  was  proclaimed  by  Colonel  Thomas  Crafts, 
which  was  received  with  great  joy,  expressed  by  three  huzzas  from  a 
great  concourse  of  people  assembled  on  the  occasion.  After  which,  on 
a  signal  given,  thirteen  pieces  of  cannon  were  fired  from  the  fort  on  Fort- 
hill  ;  the  forts  at  Dorchester  Neck,  the  Castle,  Nantasket,  and  Point  Alder- 
ton  likewise  discharged  their  cannon.  Then  the  detachment  of  artillery 
fired  their  cannon  thirteen  times,  which  wa.s  followed  by  tlie  two  regiments 
giving  their  fire  from  the  thirteen  divisions  in  succession.     These   firings 


OLD   STATE  HOUSE   RE-DEDICATJON.  93 

The  State  g-overnment,  which  consisted  of  the 
Legislature  without  a  Governor,  still  remained  at 
Watertown.  The  session  for  1776  begun  May  29, 
and  continued,  by  one  prorogation  and  one  adjourn- 
ment, until  the  12th  of  IS^ovember,  when  it  was 
transferred  to  Boston.  The  "  Boston  Gazette,"  of 
^November  4,  announces  its  own  removal  from 
Watertown  to  the  printing-office  opposite  the  Court 
House,  in  Queen  street,  and  in  its  next  issue, 
Monday,  IS^ovember  11,  states,  "  Satui'day  last,  the 
General  Assembly  of  this  State  adjourn'd  from 
Watertown,  to  meet  at  the  State  House  in  this 
Town,  Tomorrow,  at  Ten  o'clock." 

On    November    16,    1776,   seventeen    Councillors 


corresponded  to  the  number  of  the  American  States  united.  The  ceremony 
was  closed  with  a  proper  collation  to  the  gentlemen  in  the  council  chamber; 
during  which  the  following  toasts  were  given  by  the  president  of  the 
council,  and  heartily  pledged  by  the  company,  viz.  :  — 

"  '  Prosperity  and  perpetuity  to  the  United  States  of   America.' 
"'The  American  Congress.' 

"  '  General  Washington,  and  success  to  the  arms  of  the  United  States.' 
"'The  downfall  of  tyrants  and  tyranny.' 
"  '  The  universal  prevalence  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.' 
"'The  friends  of  the  United  States  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe.' 
"The  bells  in  town  were  rung  on  the  occasion;  and  undissemblcd  festivity 
cheered  and  brightened  every  face. 

"  On  the  same  evening,  the  King's  Arms,  and  every  sign  with  any  resem- 
blance of  it,  whether  Lion  and  Crown,  Pestle  and  Mortar  and  Crown, 
Heart  and  Crown,  etc.,  together  with  every  sign  that  belonged  to  a  Tory, 
were  taken  down,  and  the  latter  made  a  general  conflagration  of  in  King 
street."  —  New  England  Chronicle  for  July  23,   1776. 


94  OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

signed  a  proclamation,  "  given  at  the  Council  Cham- 
ber in  Boston,"  for  a  Thanksgiving  to  be  observed 
on  December  12  folloAving. 

The  various  State  officials  also  returned  to  this 
building,  which  continued  in  use  as  the  State 
House,  for  nearly  twenty  years.  In  1780  the  State 
Constitution  was  adopted,  and  John  Hancock,  the 
first  Governor  of  the  State,  was  installed  here,  to 
the  great  delight  of  his  fellow-townsmen.  James 
Bowdoin,  Samuel  Adams,  and  Increase  Sumner, 
succeeded  Hancock,  and  presided  in  this  chamber. 

In  1782  a  great  reception  Avas  given  in  the 
Council  Chamber  to  the  French  fleet  and  army, 
then  returning  to  Europe. 

On  the  23d  of  April,  1783,  the  Proclamation  of 
Peace  was  received  here,  "  and  the  sheriff"  of  the 
County  of  Suffolk,  Joseph  Henderson,  Esq.,  an- 
nounced the  same  from  the  balcony  of  the  State 
House,  at  one  o'clock,  before  which  a  large  con- 
course of  the  most  respectable  inhabitants  of  the 
town  were  assembled,  who  demonstrated  by  three 
loud  huzzas,  their  joy  upon  this  occasion.  After 
which,  thirteen  cannon,  from  the  fortresses  at  the 
Castle,  and  the  same  number  at  Fort  Hill,  were 
fired." 

In  1785  the  view  of  the  Old  State  House  here 
annexed  was  used  on  the  title-page  of  the  "  Boston 
Magazme."     It  is  interesting  as    showing   that   the 


JAMliS    BOWDUIN. 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  95 

Province  Arms,  or  tlioir  supporters,  had  disaj)- 
peared  from  the  eastern  front,  but  that  the  sei-olls 
had  not  been  substituted;  and  that  the  steps  wci-e 
then  in  place.  It  also  shows  that  at  that  date 
this  building  was  regarded  as  a  peculiarly  Bos- 
tonian  structure,  and  therefore  figured  on  the  front 
page  of  a  Boston  book. 

In  October,  1789,  Washington  visited  Boston, 
and  reviewed  the  procession  in  his  honor  from  a 
balcony  erected  from  the  centre  window  of  the 
Representatives'  Hall. 

Of  course  Washington  had  seen  the  State  House 
in  1776,  when  he  entered  the  town  with  his  victo- 
rious troops;  but,  on  this  occasion,  the  building  was 
the  centre  of  the  pageant  in  his  honor.  We  copy 
from  the  "  Massachusetts  Magazine "  for  January, 
1790,  a  view  thei'ein  engraved,  and  the  following 
"Description  of  the  Triumphal  Arch  and  Colonnade, 
erected  at  Boston,  in  honour  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  October  24,  1789.  —  The  Triumphal 
Arch  (designed  by  Mr.  C.  Bulfinch)  was  18  feet 
high,  composed  of  a  centre  arch  14  feet  wide,  and 
one  on  each  side,  of  7  feet,  with  an  lonick  pilaster  and 
proper  imposts  between  them.  The  frieze  exhibited 
13  stars  on  a  blue  ground,  and  a  handsome  white, 
defitulo  cornice  was  carried  to  the  height  of  the 
platform;  above  was  painted  a  balustrade  of  inter- 
laced work,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  an  oval  tablet, 


96  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

with  the  following  inscriptions :  on  one  side ,  '  To 
the  Man  who  unites  all  Hearts,^  and  on  the  other, 
'  To  Columbia's  favourite  Son.''  At  the  end 
adjoining  the  State  House  was  a  panel  decorated 
with  a  Trophy,  composed  of  the  arms  of  the  United 
States,  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  and 
of  our  French  Allies,  crowned  with  a  laurel  wreath; 
over  these  an  inscription,  ^Boston  relieved,  March 
17,1776,^  —  as  a  proof  of  a  grateful  remembrance 
of  the  service  rendered  the  town  b}^  the  illustrious 
President  in  his  military  character.  Over  the  centre 
arch,  a  rich  canopy,  of  20  feet  in  height,  was  erected, 
with  the  American  Eagle  perched  above. 

"  The  Colonnade  (designed  by  Hon.  Mr.  Dawes) 
was  erected  at  the  west  end  of  the  State  House, 
adjacent  to  the  Arch.  It  was  composed  of  six  large 
columns,  15  feet  high,  and  a  balustrade  hung  in 
front  with  Persian  carpets,  on  which  were  wrought 
13  roses.  The  circle  of  the  Colonnade  measured 
44  feet,  and  projected  boldly  into  the  main  street,  so 
as  to  exhibit  in  a  strong  light  '  The  man  of  the 
people.^  The  central  west  window  of  the  State 
House  was  the  door  through  which  the  President 
passed  to  the  balustrade,  descending  from  a  plat- 
form four  easy  stejis,  to  the  floor  of  the  gallery, 
which  was  furnished  with  arm-chairs,  and  spi'ead 
with  rich  carpets.  On  this  platform  was  a  jiedestal 
covered  with  green,  supporting  the  figure  of  Plenty, 


Proceii^ion. 


Boston,    Oct.    19,'    1789. 

AS  this  town  is  shortly  to  be  honoured  with  a  visit  from  the  PRESIDENT  of  the  United  States : 
In  order  that  we  may  pay  our  respects  to  him,  in  a  manner  whereby  every  inhabitam  may  see  so 
illustrious  and  amiable  a  character,  and  to  prevent  the  disorder  and  danger  which  must  ensue  from 
a  great  assembly  of  people  without  order,  a  Committee  appointed  by  a  respectable  number  of  in- 
habitants, met  for  the  purpose,  recommend  to  their  Fellow-Citizens  to  arrange  themselves  in  the  following  or- 
der, in  a 


O  C  E 


It  is  also  recommended,  that  the  person  who  shall  be  chosen  as  head  of  each  order  of  Artizans,  Trades- 
men, 3Ianufacturers,  &c.  shall  be  known  by  displaying  a  WHITE  FLAG,  with  some  device  thereon  expres- 
sive of  their  several  callings,  and  to  be  numbered  as  in  the  arrangement  that  follows,  which  is  alphabetically  dis- 
posed, in  order  to  give  general  satisfaction. — The  Artizans,  &c.  to  display  such  insignia  of  their  craft,  as  they 
can  conveniently  carry  in  their  hands.  That  unifornnty  may  not  be  wanting,  it  is  desired  that  the  several 
Flag-staiTs  be  SEVEN  feet  long,  and  the  Flags  a  tard  square. 

OKDER  OF  PROCESSION 


MUSICK. 

The  Selectmen, 

Overseers  of  the  Poof. 

Town  Treasurer, 

Town  Clerk, 

Magistrates, 

Consuls  of  France  and  Holland, 

The  Officers  of  his  MosuChristian  Majesty's  Squadron, 

The  Rev.  Clergy, 

Physicians, 

Lawyers, 

Merchants  and  Traders, 

Marine  Society, 

Masters  of  Vessels, 

Revenue  Officers, 

Strangers,  who  may  wish  to  attend. 

Bakers, 


Blacksmiths,  &c. 

Block-makers,' 

Boat-builders, 

Cabinet  and  Chair-makers, 

Card-maktrs, 

Carvers, 

Chaise  and  Coacli-makers, 

Clock  and  Watch-makers, 

Coopers. 

Coppersmiths,  Braziers  and  Kounde 

Cordwainers,  &c. 

Distillers, 

Duck  Manufacturers, 


1. 
5. 
(). 

7. 


Engravers, 

Glaziers  and  Plumbers, 


No.  1. 

No.  2. 

No'.  3. 

No. 

No, 

No 

No, 

No.   8. 

No.  9. 

No.   10. 

No.   II. 

No.   12. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No, 


Goidsmitlis  and  Jewellers, 

Hair-Dressers, 

Hatters  and  Furriers, 

House  Carpenters, 

Leather  Dressers,  and  Leather  Breeches 

Makers, 
Limners  and'Portrait  Painters. 
Masons,^  -  -  .  , 

Blast-makers,  -  .  ,  _ 

Mathematical  Instrumenl-maKci'S, 
Millers,  .... 

I'ainters,  .  ,  -  . 

Paper  Stainei-t, 
Pewterers,  - 

Printers,  Book. I'inders  and  Slatinners, 
Rigijers, 
Rope-makers, 

Saddlers.  .... 

Sail-makers,  .  .  -  . 

Slupwrights,  to  include  Caulkers,  Ship.joiner 

Hcad.Ijuilderi  and  Sawyers, 
biigar-boilers. 

Tallow. Chandlers,  &;c.         .  .  . 

Tanners, 


1 


13. 
14. 
15. 
IB. 


No.  17. 
No.  1«. 
No.  19. 
No.  20. 

No.  21. 

No.  22. 
No.  23. 
No.  24. 
No.  25. 
No.  2S. 
No.  27. 
No.  211. 
No.  29. 
No.  30. 
No.  31. 
No.  32. 
No,  33. 
No.  34, 

No.   35. 

No.  36. 
No.  37. 
No,  38. 
No.  30. 
No.  40. 
No.  41. 
No.  42. 
No.  43. 
No.  44. 
No.  45. 
No.  46. 


Taylors,, 

Tin-plate  Workers, 
Tobacconists, 
Truckmen, 
t         Turneis,, 

Upholsterers, 
,         Wharfingers, 
■         \V  lieeUvrights, 
Seamen, 

Ji.  B. — In  the  above  arrangement,  some  trades  are  omitted — from  the  idea,  that  they  would  incorporate  themselves  with  the  bran:he3 
mentioned,  to  which  thej  are  generallj  attached.  For  instance — it  is  supposed,  that  under  the  head  of  BladzsmithSy  the  Armourers,  Cutlers, 
■yVbitesmiths  and  other  workers  in  iron,  would  be  included  ;  and  the  same  with  respect  to  other  trades . 

Each  division  of  the  above  arrangement  is  requested  to  meet  on  such  parade  as  it  may  agree  on,  and  march 
Artizans,  Sec,  forming  at  the  South-end  thereof.     The   Marshalls  will    then  direct    in  what    tnaniicr  th 
President  on  his  arrival  in  town.     When  the  frbnt  of  the   Procession  arrives  at  the  extremity  of  the 
then  be  directed  to  open  the  column— one  half  of  each  rank  moving  to  toe  right,  and  the  other  half  to  the  left — and  then  face  inwards,  so  a« 
to  form  an  avenue  through  which  the  President  is  to  pass,  to  the  galeries  to  be  erected  at  the  State.House. 

Iris  requested  diat  the  several  School-masters  conduct  their  Scliolars  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  State-House,  and  form  them  in  such 
order  as  the  l\1arshalls  shall  direct. 
The  Marine  Society  is  desired  to  appoint  some  person  to  arrange  and  accompany  the  seamen. 


into  tne  Mall— No,  1  of  the 
Procession    will  move  to   meet  the 
town,  it  will   halt,    and  the  whole  will 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  97 

with  her  Cornucojiice  and  other  emblems.  As  soon 
as  the  President  entered  this  Colonnade  he  was 
saluted  by  three  huzzas  from  the  citizens,  and  by  an 
Ode  (see  our  Magazine  for  Octobei',  1789,  page 
659),  sung-  by  a  select  choir  of  singei's,  seated  under 
the  canopy  erected  over  the  arch.  The  whole 
formed  an  agreeable  spectacle,  and  heightened  the 
pleasure  of  the  day." 

"We  also  present  a  fac-simile  of  the  Order  of  Exer- 
cises on  that  interesting  occasion,  from  a  cojiy 
preserved  in  the  Boston  Public  Library. 

Finally,  the  project  of  a  new  State  House  was 
agitated,  and  the  corner-stone  thereof  was  laid 
Jidy  4,  1795,  with  Masonic  honors.  It  was  first 
occupied  by  the  Legislature  on  the  11th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1798,  when  that  august  body  marched  in 
procession  from  the  Old  State  House  to  the  I^ew. 

The  folloAving  descrijition,  written  by  Thomas 
Pemberton,  a  local  antiquary,  in  1794,  was  printed 
in  the  collection  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  So- 
ciety,, 1st  series,  vol.  iii.,  p.  250:  — 

"  The  State  House,  called  the  Towu  House.  The  building  first 
erected  for  governmental  business  was  placed  at  the  head  of  King- 
street,  and  was  eonsumed  by  lire  in  1711.  In  the  year  following, 
a  new  brick  building  was  raised  ou  the  same  spot  aud  met  with  a 
like  fate  the  9th  of  December,  1747;  when  some  of  the  records 
and  other  public  papers  were  destroyed.  It  was  repaired  in  the 
year  following,  in  its  present  form,  aud  is  in  length  110  feet,  in 
breadth   38   feet,  and   three    sloiie.s   high.     On  the   cenlri'  of   tiie 


98  OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

roof  is  a  tower,  consisting  of  three  stories,  finished  according  to 
the  Tuscan,  Doric  and  Ionic  orders.  From  the  upper  story  is  an 
extensive  prospect  of  the  harbor,  into  the  bay  and  of  the  country 
adjacent. 

"  The  lower  floor  of  the  building  serves  for  a  covered  walk  for 
any  of  the  inhabitants.  On  this  floor  are  kept  the  oflSces  of  the 
clerks  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  and  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 
The  chambers  over  it  are  occupied  by  the  General  Court,  the 
senate  in  one  and  the  representative  body  in  the  opposite  chamber. 
The  third  story  is  appropriated  for  the  use  of  the  Committees  of 
the  General  Court.  On  the  lower  floor  are  ten  pillars  of  the  Doric 
order,  which  support  the  chambers  occupied  by  the  Legislature. 
This  building  is  in  Coruhill,  one  mile  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
nine  yards  from  Washington-street,  the  late  fortification  entrance 
from  the  neck  into  the  town.  Its  latitude  is  42  dog.  21  inin. 
north  ;  the  longitude  is  71  deg.  .3  min.  30  sec.  west  from  Green- 
wich, in  Euglaud." 

We  have  already  printed  {ante,  p.  63)  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  building,  published  ua  August,  1791,  in 
the  "Massachusetts  Magazine."  In  the  same  magazine 
for  July,  1793,  there  was  published  a  larger  engrav- 
ing, here  reproduced,  but  no  explanation  was  given 
except  a  reference  to  the  earlier  issue. 

After  the  Legislature  had  depai'ted,  the  Town 
House  fell  upon  evil  days.  The  town-meetings 
were  held  in  the  enlarged  Faneuil  Hall,  with  which 
we  are  familiar.  The  courts  weie  transferred  to 
the  Court  House  on  Court  street,  and  the  old  build- 
ing was  given  up  to  various  tenants.  The  records 
of  the  town  and  of  the  selectmen  do  not  enable  us  to 


ill* 


M 
'■§ 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   KE-DEDICATION.  99 

give  full  details  of  the  occupants.  In  fact,  until  1803 
the  title  to  the  estate  was  in  doubt.  The  State 
claimed  the  right  to  sell  the  property,  and  to  take 
one-half  the  proceeds.  To  this  the  town  stoutly  de- 
murred, claiming  the  fee  of  the  land,  and  a  moral 
right,  at  least,  to  specify  the  uses  to  Avhich  the  build- 
ing should  be  put.  An  elaborate  report  to  this  effect 
is  on  the  town  records  for  1798.  Finally,  Feb.  1.5, 
1803,  a  resolve  was  passed  (Resolves,  c.  95,  of  1803), 
authorizing  three  commissioners  to  sell  the  Common- 
wealth's interest  to  the  town  for  the  sum  of  .$6,000. 
A  like  release  Avas  obtained  from  the  counties 
of  Suffolk  and  I^Torfolk,  for  the  sums  of  |1,923.43 
and  .$1,176.58  respectively .=« 

Th(-  town  then  voted.  May  23,  1803,  to  lease  the 

™Tlie  following  deed,  the  original  of  which  now  hangs  on  these  walls,  is 
recorded  in  the  Suffolk  Registry,  Vol.  205,  f ol.  207  :  — 

Know  all  Men  by  these  presents :  That  we,  the  undersigned,  being  ap- 
pointed a  Committee  by  the  General  Court  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts, by  their  resolve  of  the  fifteenth  of  February,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  three,  "and  authorized  with  full  power  to  make  sale  of  all  the 
Commonwealth's  Estate,  right,  title  and  Interest,  in  and  to  the  Old  State 
House,  to  the  Town  of  Boston,  or  such  person  or  persons,  and  on  such 
terms,  as  said  Committee  shall  judge  will  be  most  for  the  Interest  and  lionur 
of  the  Commonwealth  and  to  execute  good  and  sufficient  Deed  or  Deeds  of 
release  thereof  —  and  to  pay  the  proceeds  or  deliver  the  securities  which 
they  may  receive  therefor,  into  the  Treasury  of  this  Commonwealth." 

For  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  six  thousand  Dollars  for  the  use  of 
the  Coninionwealth  aforesaid,  paid  by  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Bos- 
ton, in  the  County  of  Suffolk  —  the  receipt  whereof  we  do  hereby  acknowl- 
edge. Do  by  these  presents,  sell,  release  and  forever  quit  claim  unto  the  said 


100  OLD   STATE    HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

Old  State  House  for  a  term  of  not  less  than  ten  nor 
more  than  fifty  years,  "  to  be  occupied  for  public  or 
private  offices,  and  such  other  purposes  only  as  the 
selectmen  for  the  time  being  shall  approve,  and  that 
no  alterations  be  made  in  the  external  form  of  the 
building  Avithout  their  aj)probation."  The  selectmen 
were  instructed  to  carry  the  vote  into  eifect,  and 
were  allowed  to  employ  any  agent  necessary. 

Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Boston,  all  the  said  Commonwealth's  Estate, 
riijht,  title  and  Interest  in  and  to  the  building  called  the  Old  State  House, 
situate  at  the  head  of  State  street,  in  Boston  .aforesaid. 

To  have  and  to  hold,  the  above  released  premises,  to  the  said  Inhabitants 
of  the  Town  of  Boston  and  their  assigns  forever. 

In  witness  whereof.  We  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals,  in  Boston, 

the  twenty-eighth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 

hundred  and  three. 

Enoch  Titcomb  &  a  Seal. 

Aakon  Hill  &  a  Seal. 

NicHo's  TiLLiNGHAST  &  a  Seal. 

Signed,  sealed  and  deliver'd  in  presence  of 

Sam.  Cazneau. 

Edw'd  McLane. 

Jacob  Kuhn. 

Suffolk,  ss.     Boston,  April  29th,  1803. 

Then    the    above    named    Enoch    Titcomb,    Aaron    llill    and    NichoLis 

Tillinghast,  Esquires  personally  appeared,  and  in  their  capacity  as  aforesaid 

acknowledged  the  foregoing  instrument  by  them  subscribed,  to  be  their  free 

act  and  deed. 

Before  me 

John  Avery  Jus:  Peace. 
A  True  Copy. 

Attest :  .loHN  Avery  Secretary. 

In  lib.  205,  fol.  215,  is  the  deed,  dated  May  21,  1803,  by  which  Seth  Bul- 
lard.  Thomas  Williams,  Jr.,  and  Moses  Everett,  commissioners  .appointed  by 


2 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DKDICATION.  101 

It  would  seem  that  in  1809  a  Dr.  Hand  was  one 
tenant;  in  1810  a  Mr.  Burle3%  and  also  the  Colum- 
bian Insurance  Co.  In  1811  the  office  lately  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  Park  was  divided  into  smaller  rooms. 
In  1812  the  cellars  were  let  for  three  years,  for  $600, 
to  B.  Foster,  Josiah  Siders,  and  Edward  Flood,  or 
Floyd.  April  29,  1812,  the  County  Treasixrer  was 
assigned  a  room  adjoining  westerly  that  of  the  Towq 
Treasurer.  July  8,  1812,  the  room  lately  hired  by 
He  my  Messenger,  and  then  by  Samuel  D.  Parker, 
was  valued  at  |200  rent.  In  1813,  Mr.  Harrington's 
rent  was  reduced  to  .f  120,  and  applications  for  a  re- 
duction were  made  by  the  Commercial  Insurance 
Co.,  Mr.  Floyd,  and  Mr.  Siders.  In  the  spring  of 
1816  Mr.  H.  ^.  Eogers  applied  in  behalf  of  the  gen- 
tlemen associated  at  Merchants'  Hall,  and  obtained 
leave  to  use  the  lanthorn  of  the  Old  State  House  as 
an  observatory  for  ships.  The  rents  then  fixed  wei'e 
for  Mr.  Barry  .f  800,  Mr.  Pea  |800,  Gilbert  and  Dean 
$200,  Beal  and  Hobart  |150.  (Mr.  AVilliam  Barry 
kept  a  hat-store  there  in  1826.)     Mr.  Messenger  de- 

the  Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  county  of  Norfolk,  sold  to  the  town  of 
Boston  all  the  rights  of  that  county  in  the  Old  State  House,  for  §1,176.58. 
This  county  was  in  jiart  formed  from  the  old  county  of  Suffolk,  which 
had  a  quarter  interest  in  the  building. 

In  lib.  20G.  fol.  23G,  is  a  similar  deed,  dated  July  21st,  1803,  from  Samuel 
Gardner,  Ebenezer  Seaver,  and  Josiah  Batcheldor,  similar  commissioners 
for  the  county  of  Suffolk,  to  sell  that  county's  right  in  said  building  to  the 
town  of  Boston.     The  whole  title  is  thus  clearly  vested  in  our  city. 


102  OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

clined  to  pay  a  rent  of  $300;  and  the  office  lately 
occupied  by  Mr.  Selfridge  was  let  to  Mr.  Parker,  for 
1150. 

In  January,  1817,  Mr.  Greenwood  applied  for  the 
upper  part,  and  was  informed  that  the  lowest  rent 
would  be  |1,200.  Probably  this  was  Mr.  E.  A. 
Greenwood,  who  opened  his  museum,  July  4,  1818, 
in  Court  street. 

We  copy  the  folloAving  description  from  Shaw's 
History  of  Boston,  printed  in  1817:  — 

Old  State  House.  —  The  building  first  erected  for  govern- 
meutal  business  was  placed  at  the  head  of  King-street,  and  was 
consumed  by  fire  in  1711.  In  the  j'ear  following  a  new  brick 
building  was  raised  on  the  same  spot,  and  met  a  like  fate  on  the 
9th  of  December,  1747,  when  some  of  the  records  and  other 
public  papers  were  destroyed.  It  was  repaired  in  the  year  follow- 
ing, in  its  present  form,  and  is  in  length  one  hundred  and  ten 
feet,  in  breadth  thirty-eight  feet,  and  three  stories  high.  On  the 
centre  of  the  roof  is  a  tower,  consisting  of  three  stories,  finished 
according  to  the  Tuscan,  Dorick  and  louick  orders.  From  the 
upper  story  is  an  extensive  prospect  of  the  harbor,  into  the  bay, 
and  of  the  country  adjacent.  The  lower  floor  of  the  building 
served  for  a  covered  walk  for  any  of  the  inhabitants.  On  this 
floor  were  kept  the  offices  of  the  clerks  of  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Court  and  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  The  chambers  over  it  were 
occupied  by  the  General  Court,  the  senate  in  one  and  the  rep- 
resentative body  in  the  opposite  chamber.  The  third  story  was 
appropriated  for  the  use  of  the  committees  of  the  General  Court. 
On  the  lower  floor  were  ten  pillars  of  the  Dorick  order,  which 
supported    the    chambers    occupied    by    the    Legislature.      This 


CiLi)    Stati.    H<ji_>t    IN    l.M'l.      (From  Hales'  Survey.; 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION.  103 

buililiiig  is  ill  Coniliill,  one  uiile  two  liiimlred  aud  soveiity-nine 
yards  from  Wasliiiigtou  street,  the  late  fortification  eutrauce  from 
the  nock  into  the  town. 

Dec.  28,  1819,  Col.  Daniel  Messinger  hired  his 
room  and  the  one  adjoining,  lately  occupied  by 
Charles  Bridge,  for  |500. 

June  22,  1820,  the  town  voted  to  lease  all  the 
rooms  above  the  lower  story,  except  two  on  Cornhill 
(i.e.,  Washington  street),  for  .f600,  to  the  Free- 
masons, and  the  selectmen  made  a  lease  accordingly 
for  ten  years  from  October  1.  The  records  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  show  that  the  last  meeting  was  June 
9,  ]830. 

Januaiy  30,  1822,  the  Directors  of  the  United 
States  Bank,  being  in  search  of  a  suitable  place, 
offered  to  buy  the  building;  but  the  offer  was  not 
accepted. 

The  following  description  from  the  first  edition  of 
Bowen's  "  Picture  of  Boston,"  1828-9,  shows  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  imtil  1830:  — 

Old  State  House.  —  The  building  first  erected  for  govern- 
mental business  was  placed  at  the  head  of  State-street.  It  has 
been  twice  burnt.  The  last  time  it  was  destroyed  was  in  1747, 
and  it  was  repaired  in  its  present  form,  in  the  following  year. 
The  building  is  in  length  110,  iu  breadth  38  feet,  three  stories 
high,  finished  according  to  the  Tuscan,  Dorick  and  Ionic  orders. 
The  lower  story  of  this  building  is  now  rented  liy  the  cilv  for 
stores  and  ollices,  the  second  and  thud  stories,  except  one  moin 
at  tlie  west  of  the  second  story  (which   is  occii|iied  for  the  city 


lOtt  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   EE-DEDICATION. 

Treasurer's  office),  are  occupied  by  the  Masonic  Lodges  in  Boston. 

The  Masonic  Hall  is  elegantly  embellished  ;  the  decorations  and 

furniture  are  very  rich  and  appropriate,  and  the  room  is  sufficiently 

capacious  for  most  masonic  purposes.     It  measures  43  hy  32  feet 

and  is  IG  feet  high.     The  following  is  a  list  of  the  lodges  that  4 

hold  their  meetings  here,  viz.,  —  f. 

Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  on  the  second  Wednesday  in 
December,  March,  June  and  September. 

Grand  Chapter,  2d  Tuesday  in  December,  June  and  Sep- 
tember. 

St.  John's  Lodge  on  1st  Tuesday  of  each  month. 

St.  Andrew's  on  2d  Thursdaj'  of  each  month. 

Massachusetts  on  last  Friday  of  each  month. 

Columbian  on  1st  Thursday  of  each  month. 

Mount  Lebanon  on  last  Monday  of  each  month. 

St.  Andrew's  Chapter  on  1st  Wednesday  of  each  month. 

St.  Paul's  Chapter  on  3d  Tuesday  of  each  month. 

Council  of  R.  M.  on  last  Wednesday  of  each  mouth. 

Encampment  on  3d  Wednesday  of  each  month. 

This  building,  being  placed  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  first 
streets  in  Boston,  has  quite  a  pleasant  and  imposing  appearance 
to  the  stranger  as  he  approaches  it  from  Long  Wharf.  In  Hale's 
"  Survey  of  Boston  and  Vicinity,"  the  measures  of  distances  are 
reckoned  from  this  building. 

The  accoinpanyiug  view  is  part  of  a  large  picture 
painted  in  1829,  by  Salmon,  from  a  point  on  Pem- 
bei'ton  Hill. 

The  city  government  was  inaugurated  at  Fanenil 
Hall,  May  1,  1822,  l:)ut  no  ari-angements  had  been 
made  for  a  C-ity  Hall.  As  Avill  be  more  fully  shown 
in  Appendix  F,  accommodation  was  ojjtained  for  the 


\\A-in*.<.T«.N  SrKiFr    Fnd,   1S50. 


Statf  STKF.n    1"ni>,   1880. 


ViKW    FKOM    PEMDERTON    HiLL, 
1829. 


Lm),   1S35. 


.WASHiNr.TON  Sthkht   Knp,  1880 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  105 

various  departments  in  dilFerent  buildings,  the  Mayor 
and  the  City  Council  being  provided  for  in  the  Stone 
or  County  Court  House  on  School  street,  on  the  site 
now  covered  by  City  Hall.  Such  a  state  of  affiiirs 
was  of  course  inconvenient,  and  the  project  of  a  City 
Hall  was  soon  agitated. 

In  1830  it  was  decided  to  occui)y  the  Old  State 
House  for  city  purposes.  During  these  eight  years 
the  preservation  of  the  building  had  been  twice  in 
doubt.  In  !N^ovember,  1825,  it  came  near  destruction 
by  fire,  as  the  following  vote  shows :  — 

In  Board  of  Aldermen,  Jannary  23,  1820.  "It  having  been 
made  known  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  that,  at  the  fire  in  Court 
street  in  November  last,  Mr.  Almoran  Holmes  and  Mr.  Bela 
Lincoln  were  instrumental  in  preserving  the  City  Building  e.ille<l 
the  Old  State  House,  by  permitting  themselves  to  be  let  down 
from  the  cupola  to  the  ridge-pole  of  the  building,  and  from  thence 
extinguishing  the  fire  that  had  already  reliindled  upon  the  roof 
thereon  :  Resolved  that  the  thanlis  of  tliis  lioard  1)0  presented  to 
them  for  their  distinguished  exertions  in  preserving  with  so  much 
skill  and  at  so  much  personal  hazard,  in  the  manner  above  stated, 
the  property  of  the  city  from  destruction." 

Again,  in  1826,  the  Washington  Moniunent  Asso- 
ciation was  desirous  of  obtaining  a  site  for  Chan- 
try's statue,  now  placed  in  the  State  House.  They 
finally  decided  that  the  best  place  would  be  on  the 
site  of  the  Old  State  House,  in  a  building  to  be 
erected  for  the  purpose.     In  a  rejjort  published  by 


106  OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

the  trustees  they  stated  "  the  reasons  which  induced 
the  Committee  to  prefer  the  site  of  the  Old  State 
House  had  reference  as  much  to  the  honor  and 
interests  of  the  City,  to  its  ornament  and  con- 
venience, as  to  the  peculiar  fitness  of  this  spot  for 
the  permanent  location  of  a  monument  in  honor  of 
our  First  Citizen.  This  place  was  selected  in  the 
infancy  of  our  State,  as  the  seat  of  Legislation  and 
Jurisprudence.  In  the  edifice  there  erected,  a  suc- 
cession of  firm,  enlightened,  and  vigorous  measures 
of  resistance  to  the  usurpations  of  the  British 
ministry  were  devised  and  adopted,  which  must  be 
considered  as  the  more  immediate  causes  of  our 
!N"ational  Independence,  and  it  seems  to  be  difticult 
to  reconcile  the  comparatively  degraded  uses,  to 
Avhich  that  edifice  has  since  beeu  condemned,  with 
the  uniform  patriotism,  and  veneration  for  the  found- 
ers of  our  Eepublic,  for  which  the  City  of  Boston 
has  been,  at  all  periods  of  its  history,  so  distin- 
guished." The  committee  to  present  this  report 
consisted  of  John  Lowell,  James  Lloyd,  John  Davis, 
John  C.  "Warren,  William  Sullivan,  and  Edward 
Everett.  Objection,  however,  was  made  by  the 
public,  and  the  building  happily  escaped  destruction 
at  the  hands  of  those  who  esteemed  themselves  its 
friends. 

The  work  of  restoration,  in  1830,  was  confided  to 
Isaiah  Rogers,  and  he  entrusted  part  of  the  details  to 


r1i  iiri^fc 


City    Hall,   1830. 
(Fruai  SnowV  (iiii^i'apliy. ) 


City   Hall,   1835. 
(From  Bewick  Co.'s  Mai).) 


CiTV  Hall,   1  &;;.--. 
(Bowen's  Picture.) 


OLD   STATE  HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION.  107 

a  young-  architect  just  beginning  the  series  of  works 
which  makes  the  name  of  WilUam  Washburn  famihar 
to  us.  It  was  a  time  when  chissical  types  were  in 
vogue,  and,  therefore,  the  additions  were  patterned 
on  Grecian  models.  Heavy  wooden  poi'ticos  wei'e 
added  at  each  end,  and  these  halls  on  the  second 
floor  were  fitted  to  the  uses  of  the  City  Council. 
In  this  room  the  Aldermen  met;  in  the  Repre- 
sentatives' Hall  the  Common  Council.  The  pre- 
ceding extracts  from  Bowen  and  Shaw,  with  the 
accompanying  pictures,  fully  illustrate  this  occu- 
pancy, which  lasted  for  ten  years,  until  1840,  and 
which,  indeed,  is  recollected  by  many  of  our 
citizens. 

To  complete  the  record  we  copy  the  following 
from  the  third  edition  of  Bowen's  "Picture,"  dated 
1838,  when  there  was  already  a  discussion  about 
leaving  the  building :  — 

CiTT  Hall.  — The  first  building  for  governmeutal  business  was 
erected  at  the  head  of  what  was  then  called  King-street,  about 
1658.  It  has  been  twice  burnt.  The  last  time  it  was  destroyed 
was  1747,  an<l  it  was  repaired  in  the  following  year  nearly  in  its 
present  form.  The  building  is  in  length  110,  in  breadth  38  feet, 
three  stories  high,  finished  according  to  the  Tuscan,  Doric  and 
Ionic  orders.  Till  recently  it  wa,s  called  the  "  Old  State  House.", 
The  latitude  of  this  building  is  very  near  42  deg.  21  min.  north ; 
the  longitude  is  71  deg.  .3  min.  30  sec.  west  from  Greenwich,  in 
England. 

After  the   Revolution,    it    was    the    |)lacc   of   meeting  for  the 


108  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

General  Court,  till  after  the  completion  of  the  State  House  near 
Beacon  Hill.  From  about  that  time,  to  tlie  year  1830  (thirty 
years),  the  lower  floor  and  cellar  were  used  by  various  tradesmen. 
Insurance  Offices,  etc. 

On  the  17th  Sept,  1830,  having  been  thoroughly  repaired,  it 
was,  by  an  ordinance  of  the  City  Government,  called  the  "•  City 
Hall,"  —  by  which  name  it  has  since  been  designated.  It  stands 
at  the  head  of  State  street  and  on  the  line  of  Washington  street, 
the  Broad  way  of  the  metropolis  of  Massachusetts,  having  a  tower 
overlooking  most  of  the  city  and  harlior,  rising  from  the  centre  of 
the  roof.  Tlie  fronts  on  Washington  and  State  streets  have  each 
a  portico  Being  in  the  very  focus  of  business  and  nearly  in  the 
centre  of  the  city,  the  use  to  which  this  venerable  pile  is  now 
devoted  appears  to  give  universal  satisfaction. 

On  tlie  lirst  floor  are  three  large  rooms ;  tliat  facing  AVashing- 
Um  street  is  the  Post-Offlce.  At  the  other  extremity,  looking 
down  State  street,  is  Topliff's  News  Eoom,  one  of  the  best  con- 
ducted establishments,  for  the  accommodation  of  merchants,  in  the 
United  States.  The  middle  room,  a  lofty  apartment,  supported 
by  pillars,  is  the  Merchants'  Exchange,  and  common  thorough- 
fare to  the  public  offices. 

From  this  central  room  is  a  flight  of  winding  stairs,  leading  to 
a  suite  of  apartments  in  the  second  story.  Directly  over  the  Post- 
Offiee  is  the  Hall  of  the  Common  Council,  in  which  they  ordinarily 
meet  on  public  business.  In  the  opposite  end  of  the  building  is 
the  Hall  of  the  Ma3'or  and  Aldermen.  In  this  room  the  chief 
Magistrate  of  the  city,  together  with  the  City  Clerk,  remain 
through  the  day,  in  the  discharge  of  their  ordinary  duties.  The 
Board  of  Aldermen  hold  their  meetings,  also,  on  Monday  even- 
ings. Around  the  circular  area  of  the  stairs  are  a  series  of 
Offices,  viz.,  the  Auditor's,  Treasurer's,  Assistant  City  Clerk's, 
Clerk  of  Common  Council,  and  the  Health  Oflice,  which  latter 
accommodates  the  City  Marshal,  Superintendent  of  Burial  Grounds, 


ViKW     OF     THE     Flllli     IS 


l^Fiijiu  Salmon's  I'iiturc.j 


OLD    STATK   HOISE   HK-DKDK'A  TION.  1U9 

Physician  of  the  Port,  Captain  of  the  Port,  Captain  of  the  Watch, 
Siiperintcudent  of  Lamps,  and  the  Commissioner  of  Streets. 

Another  flight  of  stairs  leads  to  the  third  storj^,  in  whicii  is  tlie 
Office  of  the  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire-  Department,  City  Land 
Commissioner,  Messenger,  a  Committee  Room,  and  a  large  Hall, 
in  which  is  a  recently  organized  pnblic  Vaccine  Institution,  for  the 
gratuitous  inoculation  of  the  poor. 

The  whole  is  lighted  with  gas,  as  well  as  the  lamps  at  the  four 
corners  of  the  building.  Besides  being  ornamental  to  the  city, 
the  concentration  of  so  many  important  offices  uuder  one  roof 
renders  the  City  Hall  an  object  of  peculiar  interest. 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1832,  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, this  ancient  building,  the  scene  of  so  many  interesting  events, 
again  took  fire  from  an  opposite  building,  under  the  stool  of  one 
of  the  Lutheran  windows,  which  soon  communicated  with  the 
uuder  side  of  the  roof,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  uncommon  ex- 
ertions of  the  fire  department  it  must  have  been  completely  pros- 
trated in  a  little  time.  As  it  was,  however,  the  damages  were 
easily  repaired.  The  appropriation  of  the  Council  for  the  purpose 
was  $3,500.00.  No  papers  of  importance,  were  lost,  and  the 
curious  records  of  the  city,  from  its  first  settlement,  for  a  third 
time,  were  safel}'  rescued  from  a  devouring  element. 

In  Hales'  "  Survey  of  Boston  and  Vicinity,"  the  measures  of 
distance  are  reckoned  from  this  building. 


The  building  was,  for  a  third  tiiiic,  put  iu  peril, 
when,  on  the  21st  of  ]N"ovember,  1832,  the  fire-  in 
a  building  opposite  was  communicated  to  the  roof 
of  this  btiilding,  but,  liappily,  was  soon  arrested. 
Sahnon's  picture  of  the  event  is  familiar  to  us  all, 
having  been  engraved  on  the  diplomas  of  the  Fire 


110  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

Department.     Surely  we  may  say  of  the   venerable 
tower,  almost  in  Longfellow's  words,  — 

"  In  tlie  market-place  of  Bruges,  stands  the  belfry  old  and  brown, 
Thrice  consumed  and  thrice  rebuilded,  still  it  watches  o'er  the  town." 

After  the  removal  of  the  City  Hall  to  its  School- 
street  site,  this  building  was  again  abandoned  to 
business  purposes,  and,  in  the  hands  of  successive 
lessees,  it  rapidly  deteriorated.  A  hideous  mansard 
roof  disfigured  its  external  lines  ;  new  partitions 
obliterated  for  the  time  the  fair  proportions  of  these 
halls  ;  signs,  telegraph  wires  and  poles  in  countless 
niimber  contributed  to  the  shameful  defacement. 
The  annexed  copy  of  an  engraving  issued  at  that 
date  portrays  the  wreck  better  than  any  description 
can.  So  completely  were  the  memories  of  the  site 
forgotten,  and  so  arrogant  were  the  fancied  demands 
of  commerce,  that,  in  1875,  it  was  almost  decided 
to  pull  down  the  building.  Happily  better  counsels 
prevailed,  and  the  building  Avas  spared,  though 
even  then  it  received  a  fresh  injuiy  in  the  form 
of  a  huge  stairway  cut  through  the  walls  of  the 
eastern  end,  as  shown  in  the  picture  of  that  date. 
In  1881,  the  City  Council  authorized  that  work  of 
restoration,  which,  on  its  completion,  is  to-day 
submitted  to  your  consideration. 

A  complete  account  of  what  has  been  done  is  to 
be  read   in    Appendix    G,    furnished    by    the    City 


OLD   STATE  HOUSE  KE-DEDICATION.  Ill 

Architect.  It  will  be  cnougli  to  state  at  present, 
tliat  ^ye  now  behold  substantially  the  same  halls 
which  echoed  the  eloquence  of  Adams,  Quincy, 
Otis,  and  Warren,  and  which  witnessed  the  baffled 
intrigues  of  Hutchinson  and  Oliver,  and  the  un- 
successful plans  of  Gage  and  Clinton,  Howe  and 
Burgoyne. 

"When,  in  1830,  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  tlien  ma^or 
of  the  city,  stood  here  to  welcome  the  inauguration 
of  his  government,  he  thus  addressed  the  Council 
in  regard  to  this  building  :  — 


"  It  exhibits  uo  pomp  of  areliitectural  gramleui' or  refined  taste, 
and  has  no  pretensions  to  vie  witli  tlie  magnificent  structures 
of  other  countries  or  even  of  our  own.  Yet  it  is  a  goodly  and 
venerable  pile ;  and  with  recent  iiuijrovenients  is  an  ornameut 
of  the  place,  of  whose  liberty  it  was  once  the  citadel.  And  it 
has  an  interest  for  Bostonians  who  enter  it  this  day,  like  that 
which  is  felt  by  grown  children  for  an  ancient  matron  by  whom 
they  were  reared,  and  whom,  visiting  after  years  of  absence, 
they  find  in  her  neat,  chaste,  old-fashioned  attire,  spruced  up  to 
receive  them,  with  her  comforts  about  her,  and  the  same  kind, 
hospitable,  and  excellent  creature  whom  they  left  in  less  flourish- 
ing circumstances.  But  to  this  edifice  there  is  not  only  a  natural, 
but  '  a  spiritual  body,'  which  is  tlie  immortal  soul  of  Indi'pcnd- 
ence.  Nor  is  there,  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  anotlier  building, 
however  venerable  for  its  antifjuity,  or  stately  in  its  magnificence, 
however  decorated  by  colunms  and  porticos,  and  e;irtoons,  and 
statues  and  altars,  and  outshining  the  wealth  of  Ormus  or  of 
Ind,   entitled    in    history   to    more    ]i()n(iral>]e    mention,    or   wiiose 


112  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

spires  aud  turrets  are  surrounded  with   more  glorious    lialo  thau 
this  unpretending  building. 

"  I  refer  you  to  the  daj'  when  Independence,  mature  in  age  and 
loveliness,  advanced  with  angelic  grace  from  the  chamber  in  which 
she  was  born  into  the  same  balcony,  and  holding  in  her  liand  the 
immortal  scroll  on  which  her  name  and  character  and  claims  to 
her  inheritance  were  inscribed,  received  from  the  street,  filled  with 
an  impenetrable  phalanx,  and  windows  glittering  with  a  blaze  of 
beauty,  the  heartfelt  homage  and  eleeti'ifying  peals  of  men, 
women,  and  children  of  the  whole  city.  The  splendor  of  that 
glorious  vision  of  my  childhood  seems  to  be  now  present  to  my  view, 
and  the  harmony  of  that  universal  concert  to  vibrate  in  my  ear. 

""We,  gentlemen,  have  now  become,  for  a  short  period,  occu- 
pants of  this  Temple  of  Liberty.  Henceforth,  for  many  years, 
the  Citj'  Government  will  probably  be  here  administered. 
May  we,  and  those  who  will  succeed  us,  appreciate  the  respon- 
sibleness  attached  to  our  places  by  the  merit  of  (jur  j^redecessors  ; 
and  though  we  cannot  serve  our  country  to  the  same  advantage, 
may  we  love  it  with  equal  fidelity.  And  may  the  guardian  genius 
of  our  beloved  city  forever  delight  to  dwell  in  these  renovated 
walls ! " 

After  the  lapse  of  half  a  century  we  assemble  to 
renew  these  pious  labors,  and  to  repeat  his  fervent 
prayers  for  their  success;  but  the  times  are  more 
propitious  for  us,  since  the  present  generation  has 
been  taught  anew  the  necessity  of  perpetually  culti- 
vating those  patriotic  virtues  which  alone  can  ani- 
mate a  nation  in  times  of  adversity. 

Twenty  years  have  passed  since  the  assembled 
citizens   of   Boston   were   again   aroused,   from   the 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  113 

balcony  of  this  chamber,  by  the  eloquence  of  those 
speakers  who  uttered  the  cry,  "To  amis!  " 

God  grant  that  in  our  day  that  appeal  may  never 
again  be  made;  but  shoidd  tlic  necessity  arise,  it  must 
be  made  to  a  community  which  has  been  daily 
familiar  with  the  lessons  taught  by  the  memories  of 
these  halls  as  well  as  of  the  "  Ci-adle  of  Liberty,"  — 
Faneuil  Hall. 

"Here  the  child  Independence  was  born!"  and 
what  untold  glories  in  the  future  that  birth  por- 
tended! The  independence  for  which  our  fathers 
fought  Avas  freedom  of  thought,  speech,  and  action  in 
every  land  and  in  every  generation.  The  chain 
which  they  broke  Avas  not  simply  that  of  Great 
Britain  over  America,  but  the  greater  fetters  of 
usurped  authority  over  the  bodies  and  minds  ot 
millions  in  other  lands.  To  our  success  is  to  be 
attributed  whatever  liberty  has  been  achieved  for  the 
suflering  nations  of  Europe,  or  for  the  long-enslaved 
victims  of  unwarrantable  oppression  in  our  own  land. 
I  had  thoiight  I  had  recited  all  the  stirring  events 
connected  with  this  building,  but  I  pause  to  add  that 
it  aftbrded  a  temporary  shelter  to  William  Lloyd 
Garrison,  as  he  was  unwillingly  rescued  from  the  mis- 
guided rage  of  a  pro-slavery  mob.  Let  us  rejoice 
that  we  to-day  can  assert,  that,  among  the  results 
of  that  Independence  which  was  first  proclaimed 
on   this  spot,  has   been   the   purging  of  the  Great 


114  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

Republic  of  the    anomalous    stain    and   reproach  of 
domestic  slavery. 

And,  surely,  if  we  have,  at  so  great  cost  of  treasure 
and  blood,  exj)iated  our  national  sin,  we  may  turn, 
with  expectant  gaze,  to  our  sister  nations  for  a  simi- 
lar sacrifice.  The  independence  which  we  inculcate 
demands  that,  wherever,  under  any  professed  form  of 
law,  the  labor  of  the  peasant  profits  only  his  master, 
that  iniquity  shall  cease,  —  whether  it  be  in  the 
familiar  case  of  Ireland,  whose  wrongs  meet  Avith  so 
prompt  a  response  in  kindred  bosoms  here,  —  or  of 
Russia,  where  the  lurid  torch  of  Nihilism  i-eveals 
the  misery  of  untold  millions,  —  or  wherever  else  the 
wretched  serf  looks  eagerly  to  the  laud  of  promise 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

Fellow-citizens,  so  long  as  we  maintain  the  sacred 
fires  upon  the  altars,  we  ma}"  claim  the  right  to  be 
especially  favored  by  the  divinity.  I  cannot  allow 
myself  to  dwell  upon  the  possibility  of  any  future 
surrender  of  these  walls  to  any  purpose  less  apjiro- 
priate  than  that  we  now  celebrate.  I  cannot  antici- 
pate any  decrease  in  the  prosperity  or  the  public 
spirit  of  our  beloved  city.  I  can  only  predict  that 
future  generations,  for  centuries  to  come,  mil  visit 
this  spot  and  will  remember  us  thankfully  for  what 
we  have  this  day  done. 

To  you,  Mr.  Maj'or,  as  the  highest  representative 
of  the  cit}^,  I  now  ti'ansfer  the  care  and  custody  of 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  115 

the  Old  State  House,  felicitating  you  upon  the  hon- 
orable duty,  and  congratulating  the  city  that  it 
devolves  upon  one  so  well  qualified,  by  assiduous 
study,  to  appreciate  the  value  of  this  acquisition. 


116  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Whitmore's  address,  His  Honor 
ISIayor  Green  said  :  — 


MAYOR   GREEN'S   REMARKS. 

Mr.  Chairman:  —  The  Old  State  House  to-day 
comes  back  to  the  city,  and  as  the  chief  executive 
officer  I  greet  the  venerable  structure  with  a  warm 
and  hearty  welcome.  After  an  occupation  of  many 
years  for  purposes  of  general  business,  these  halls 
are  now  to  be  used  for  the  reception  and  preserva- 
tion of  historical  objects  of  local  interest.  The  com- 
mittee of  which  you  are  at  the  head,  Mr.  Alderman, 
having  this  matter  in  charge,  deserve  the  thanks  of 
the  community,  for  the  way  in  which  it  has  been 
done.  I  know  full  well  that  the  work  has  fallen 
largely  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Councilman  who  has 
given  us  this  morning  his  interesting  and  instructive 
address,  and  it  is  through  his  untiring  zeal  as  an 
antiquary  that  this  plan  has  been  brought  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue.  I  sympathize  most  warmly  with  him 
in  the  expression  that  the  use  we  now  give  to  these 
halls  may  be  the  permanent  one.  He  has  told  how 
this  building  was  erected  as  a  town  house,  and 
traced  its  history  from  the  earliest  days  to  the 
present  time.  Its  close  connection  with  the  various 
political  events  of  our  city  and  State  makes  it  a 
conspicuous  monument  in  our  local  annals. 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  117 

The  formal  dedication  of  a  public  building-  is  a 
custom  of  comparatively  modern  times.  The  foun- 
ders of  'New  England  were  too  busy  to  indulge  in 
mere  formalities;  and,  even  if  they  had  the  time,  they 
were  apt  to  look  ujion  such  observances  as  idle  and 
frivolous.  They  regarded  the  various  purposes  to 
which  a  building  was  put  as  in  themselves  a  sufficient 
dedication;  and  for  this  reason  they  avoided  any 
special  ceremony  to  emphasize  its  objects  or  uses. 
While  it  is  true,  then,  that  this  structure  was  never 
formally  dedicated,  it  is  equally  true  that  it  was  con- 
secrated by  all  that  was  high  and  noble  in  patriotic 
service,  through  the  words  that  were  spoken  and  the 
deeds  that  were  inspii'ed  within  its  walls. 

The  political  town-meeting  is  an  outgrowth  of 
New  England  life,  and  it  has  been  the  very  cradle  of 
American  liberty  and  independence.  It  originated 
with  the  first  comers  and  has  been  kept  up  hj  their 
successors  till  the  present  time.  The  freemen  of  the 
several  towns  came  together  in  public  meeting  to  dis- 
cuss and  settle  questions  of  general  interest.  They 
chose  town  officers,  to  whom  was  delegated  the 
power  to  manage  their  civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical 
affairs.  It  was  at  such  gatherings  that  a  free  and 
full  recognition  of  popular  i-ights  was  first  made  in 
this  country,  and  the  very  foundation  and  corner- 
stone of  our  present  jiolitical  system  laid.  The  best 
insight  of  the  forces  that  developed  local  self-gov- 


118  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

ernmeiit  is  to  be  found  in  the  action  of  such  meet- 
ings. The  causes  that  brought  about  tlie  separation 
of  the  American  colonies  from  the  mother  country 
were  ripening  during  many  years,  but  they  were  kept 
aUve  and  active  by  these  pubHc  assemblages.  Bos- 
ton was  the  largest  and  most  influential  town  on  the 
continent,  and  was  always  ready  to  take  the  lead  in 
public  alfairs.  When  she  spoke,  her  voice  was  heard 
with  no  doubtful  sound,  and  she  had  all  IS^ew  Eng- 
land for  an  audience.  Her  utterances  were  given 
from  this  building  as  well  as  from  Faneuil  Hall  and 
the  Old  South  Meeting-house.  These  three  struct- 
ures are  full  of  historical  reminiscences  and  associa- 
tions, and  I  envy  not  the  man  who  can  approach 
any  one  of  them  with  ordinary  feelings.  Rude 
though  they  are  in  external  form  they  represent 
in  their  traditions  the  highest  form  of  religion 
and  patriotism,  as  understood  by  the  framers  of 
our  government.  He  lacks  some  of  the  human 
sensibilities  whose  heart  is  not  thrilled,  and  whose 
emotions  are  not  quickened,  when  he  enters  their 
portals. 

I  do  not  forget  the  fact  that  this  building  was 
occupied  by  the  municipal  authorities  during  a  period 
of  ten  years.  On  Sejit.  17,  1830,  the  two  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  Boston,  the  City 
Government,  under  the  Mayoralty  of  Harrison  Gray 
Otis,  took  possession  of  these  apartments,  and  used 


OhT)    STATE    HOUSE   KE-DEDICATION.  119 

them  until  March  18,  18-41.  Tt  was  under  this  roof 
that  the  admini.sti'ations  of  Charles  Wells,  Theodore 
Ljmian,  Samuel  T.  Armstrong,  and  Samuel  A.  Eliot 
were  carried  on;  and  it  was  while  Jonathan  Chap- 
man Avas  Mayor  that  the  city  offices  were  again 
removed  to  the  City  Hall,  standing  between  Court 
square  and  School  street.  Whatever  may  be  the  fate 
of  other  public  buildings,  let  us  cherish  the  hope  that 
the  Old  State  House  may  stand  as  a  connecting  link 
between  the  provincial  and  national  periods  of  our 
country's  history,  and  that  it  may  continually  remind 
us  of  the  unselfish  devotion  and  hard  struggles  of 
the  men  who  laid  the  foundation  of  our  present  gov- 
ernment. 

Alderman  Hehsey.  —  I  recognize  among  our 
honored  guests  to-day,  the  face  and  form  of  him 
whose  memory  extends  far  back  into  the  past,  and 
who,  I  know,  can  give  us  some  personal  reminis- 
cences connected  with  this  building.  I  allude  to 
the  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder. 

REMARKS   or   HON.    MARSHALL   P.    WILDER. 

I  did  not  expect,  Mr.  Mayor,  and  Mr.  Chairman, 
to  be  called  upon  here  to  say  a  single  word  to-day. 
At  my  time  of  life,  and  under  this  oppressive  heat, 
my  words  must  be  very  few.  But  I  rejoice  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  that  I  am  able  to  be  here  on  this 


120  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

consecrated  spot,  and  participate  in  the  ceremony  of 
the  restoration  of  the  Old  State  House. 

I  say  my  words  must  be  few;  but  T  desire  to 
tender  to  His  Honor  the  Maj'^or,  and  to  the  City 
Government,  the  thanks  of  the  Historic-Genealogi- 
cal Society,  in  their  behalf  and  in  my  own;  I  desire 
to  thank  yon  for  the  wisdom  of  making  the  apjiro- 
priation  which  has  placed  again,  as  we  believe,  much 
in  its  old  style,  this  building  of  former  days ;  and  I 
desire  to  thank  Mr.  Whitmore  for  his  energetic, 
enterprising,  persistent,  and  successful  labors  in  bring- 
ing again  into  this  form,  this  structure,  so  ancient, 
and  so  renowned  in  the  history  of  this  city,  because 
of  the  events,  so  graphically  described  by  Mr.  Whit- 
more and  His  Honor  the  Mayor,  which  transpired 
upon  this  spot.  Here  Independence  drew  its  first 
breath.  This  sjjot,  now  consecrated  by  the  restora- 
tion of  this  building,  will  perpetuate  the  history  of 
those  men,  who,  more  than  any  others,  led  in  the 
American  revolution,  and  gave  to  the  world  the  fh'st 
great,  free,  and  independent  nation  on  earth. 

The  work  has  been  well  accomplished.  Nothing 
could  be  more  appropriate ;  and  the  provision  made 
for  it  by  the  City  Government,  I  am  sure  you  will 
all  say,  could  not  have  been  more  judiciously  ex- 
pended. For  I  hold  that  next  to  training  the  spirit 
for  the  life  eternal,  there  is  no  obligation  more 
solemn  than  that  of  perpetuating  to  future  genera- 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION.  121 

tions  the  principles  and  virtues  of  those  noble  men 
who  gave  to  the  world  this  great  republic,  —  principles 
and  virtues  upon  which  must  ever  rest  the  happiness 
and  prosperity  of  all  our  people. 

This  ended  the  formal  exercises.  The  following  letters, 
addressed  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  Alderman 
Woolley,  were  not  read,  owing  to  his  absence  ;  but  they  are 
worthy  of  preservation  in  the  history  of  the  celebration  :  — 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts, 

ExECUTiA'E  Department,  .July  8,  1882. 
Mt  deak  Mr.  Alderman  :  —  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  invi- 
tation to  the  re-dedication  of  the  Old  State  House,  with  its 
interesting  associations.  I  am  unable  to  accept  on  account  of 
engagements  at  the  same  hour,  but  I  beg  to  send  my  kindest 
wishes  for  the  occasion. 

Very  truly  yours, 

JOHN   D.    LONG. 

Wm.  Woolley,  Esq. 

Navy  Yard,  Boston, 
Commandant's  Office,  July  10,  1882. 
Dear  Sir  :  —  I  have  had  the  honor  of  receiving  3'our  kind 
invitation  to  attend  at  the  Old  State  House  to-morrow  to  partici- 
pate in  the  ceremonies  of  the  Re-dedication  of  that  ancient  and 
interesting  structure.  I  greatly  regret  that  m3^  health  is  such 
that  I  will  not  be  able  to  attend. 

With  manj-  thanks  to  you,  and  to  Mr.  Whitmore,  I  liavc  the 
honor  to  be. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

O.    C.    BADGER, 

Commodore,  U.S.N. 

William   Woolley,  Esq., 

City  Council,  City  Hall,  Boston. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  A. 


Copies  of  Original  Papers,  in  the  possession  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  relating-  to  the  Erec- 
tion of  the  Town  House  in  Boston   in    1().">7. 


1. 

POWER    CONFERRED    BY   THE   COMMITTEES    FOR  THE   TOWN 

HOUSE  — 1657. 

Wee  whose  names  are  vnder  wrighten  liaving  full  power  given  vs  by  the 
Town  of  Boston  to  Agree  with  workmen,  &  in  their  l)ehalfo  to  Engadge  the 
Town.  In  tlie  Payment  of  any  sum  or  sums  fur  the  bnilcling  Erecting  &  Com- 
pleating  of  A  house  for  the  Town  botli  for  tlie  forme  &  dimentions  &c.  accord- 
ing as  we  shall  Judge  meet,  They  the  s'^  Towne  having  Eugadged  themselves 
to  own  &  stand  by  vs  and  pforme  what  promises  Covenants  or  Engadgm  wee 
should  make  in  order  to  the  accomplishing  of  the  premises.  And  to  facillitate 
the  s''  workc  we  the  s"l  subscribed  doe  make  choyce  of  M  Edward  Hutchinson 
&  John  Hull  in  o  behalfe  to  Agree  &  Compound  with  workmen  &  Engadge 
paym'  in  evcrie  respect  for  the  s''  worke  &  we  doe  hereby  olilidge  o'  selves  to 
stand  by,  own,  &  performe  what  the  s''  M"'  Ed:  Hutchinson  &  Jn  Hull  Sou 
deputed  shall  doe  or  Engadge  themselves  in  as  iff  it  was  the  personall  act  of 
everie  one  off  vs  &-  heervnto  we  subscribe  o*"  hands,  by  this  binding  o"^  selves 
likewise  to  own  what  the  s""  prtyes  have  allridy  done  in  the  s"'  worke  signed 
this  31  of  the  6"' month  1657. 


Townesmen 
Commisioners 


Tno:   Marsh.\ll 
Samuel  Cole 
William   Paddy 
Josh:    Scottow 
.  Jer:  Howcuin 


2. 

AGREEM^  FOR  THE  TOWN  HOUSE  —  1657. 

Boston  August  1  1657. 

Wee  whose  names  are  vnder  wrighten  Being  chosen  by  &  in  behalfe  of  the 
Town  of  Boston,  to  bargain  &  Contract  witli  some  able  workemen  about  A 
house  for  the  Town,  we  have  Bargained  &  Contracted,  &  by  these  ]>rcsents  doe 
bargain  &  Covenant  with  Thomas  Joy  and  Bartholomew  Bernad  of  Boston;  & 
the  s'  Tliomas  Joy  &  Barth  Bernad.  are  lieerby  boun<l  &  doe  oblidge  them- 
selves vnto  tlie  s''  Town  of  Boston  (&  in  vn  [to]  In  thcire  behalfe)  that  they 
will  Prepare  &  Erect,  a  very  substantiall  and  Comely  builiiing  In  the  place 
Appointed  by  the  s"!  Town  ;  The  dimentions  of  w"''  Edifice  sh:ill  i>e  sixty  si.K  foot 
in  Length,  and  thirty  si.\  foot  in  Breadth  from  out  side  to  out  side,  set  vpon 
twenty   one   Fillers   of  full   ten  foot   high   between  Pedestall   &   Capitall,  & 


126  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 


well  brasod  all  four  waies,  placed  upon  foundation  of  stone  in  the  bottome. 
The  wholl  Biiiklnij;  to  Jetty  over  three  foot  without  the  Fillers  everie  way  : 
The  height  of  the  s''  House  to  be  ten  foot  betwixt  Joynts  above  the  Fillers, 
and  a  lialfe  storie  above  that,  with  three  gable  Endes  over  it  vpon  each 
side  :  A  walke  vpon  the  Top  fourteen  or  15  foote  wide  with  two  Turrets,  & 
turned  ISalasters  and  railcs,  round  aliout  the  walke  according  to  A  uiodell  or 
drauglit  Presented  to  vs,  by  the  s''  Tho:  Joy,  &  liarth:  Bernad.  Tlies''Tho: 
Joy  &  15artli:  Bernad  Likewise  finding  things  necisarie  and  meet  for  tlie  s>l 
Building,  viz  :  Timber  in  in  everie  respect  &  of  everie  sort,  substantiall  &  meet 
according  to  Proportion  &  Art,  Plank  for  the  sides  &  ends  three  Inch  thick,* 
well  groved  one  into  anotlier,  and  into  tlie  timbers  allso  an  Inch  and  halfe ; 
well  plained  and  smoothed  one  Both  sides,  two  Incli  plank  for  the  lower 
floor,  and  full  Inch  for  the  vpper  floor.  Both  smootlied,  and  vpon  tlie  walk 
duble  boarded  and  well  groved;  the  RootF  well  boarded  &  shingled,  with 
gutters  sufliciently  made. 

Bringing  all  to  the  Place,  Erecting  finishing  &  Compleating  the  whole  Edi- 
fice viz  The  Frame,  foundations,  Floores,  staires  (viz  Two  pair  halfe  paced 
staires  &  turned  staires  vp  into  tlie  walke)  doores,  window  Cases  &  Casements, 
mantle  peeces.  Inclosures  Fertitions  f  &c  Tlie  wboll  Edifice  to  be  Erected,  by 
the  tliirty  daye  of  the  fourth  month  called  June  next  ensuing  the  date  heer- 
oft';  and  Covered  and  shingled  within  six  weekes  after  that.  The  Town  find- 
ing all  the  Iron  worke,  as  nailes  liookes  hinges  ic.  glass  with  glasing  and  Lead 
for  the  Gutters  masonrie  worke  as  the  chimnies,  foundation  of  the  Fillers  with 
stone  brick  &  Lime  belonging  to  the  same  the  afl^o's''  Tho:  &  Barth:  all  the 
other  worke  as  aflfor"'     The  Town  finding  help  at  the  raysing. 

In  consideration  of  the  premises  we  due  heerby  oblidge  ourselves  (accord- 
ing to  order  &  in  behalfe  of  the  s''  Town  of  Boston  afl'ors'')  To  give  &  Assigne 
over  vnto  the  s>i  Tho:  Joy  &  Barthol;  Bernad  or  to  either  of  them  or  their 
assignes  the  three  Ilund:  Founds  w-'''  is  that  Fart  of  the  Legacy  of  Cap'  Hob 
Keyne  (deceased)  designed  &  bequeathed  vnto  the  s''  Town  in  his  Last  will  for 
thervse,  and  also  one  hund.  Pound  move  we  heerby  oblidge  o'selves  to  Fay 
or  Cause  to  be  paled  vnto  the  s''  Thomas  &  Bartholomew  or  their  Assignes  In 
good  English  goods  at  price  Currant,  and  likewise  to  doe  our  vttmost  that  one 
fiff'ty  pound  of  this  above  mentioned  paym'  (viz  out  of  the  thre  Hun'')  may  be 
made  in   mony  for  the  more  lively  cavsing  an  end  of  the  affo'^s'^   worke. 

The  time  w^''  Payment  shall  be  as  followeth  viz  :  one  Hund.  Found  at  the 
Bringing  of  the  Timber  to  the  Place  A  second  Hund:  at  the  raysing  A  third 
Hund:  at  the  inclosure  &  Covering  A  fourth  at  the  finishing  and  Comideating 
vnto  all  these  premises  aboves''  we  doe  heerby  Joj'ntly  &  severaly  mutualy  & 
Interchangeably  bind  o'selves  by  o'  hands  &  scales  this  first  of  August,  1657. 

We  doe  also  engadge  that  the  three  Hund:   pound  in  the  Legacy  aboves'i 
shall  be  made  good  vnto  the  s''  workmen  Thomas  &  Bartholomew. 
^\'itleses  heer  rnto 

Joseph  Newgate  Edward  Hutchinson       [seal] 

James  Browne  John  Hcll      [seal] 

Henrv  Powning 


COPY   OF   THE   SUBSCRIPTION   PAPER  FOR  THE  FIRST  TOWN- 
HOUSE IN  BOSTON,  ERECTED  BETWEEN  1G57  AND  1G59. 

Whearas  thear  is  giuen  a  considerabl  sume  by  Capt  Kayne  towars  the 
Bulding  of  a  towne  house  V^^  sum  will  not  ataine  the  Bulding  w"''  he  men- 
tioneth  in  his  will,  now  considering  the  vsefullnes  of  such  a  structure  we  whose 

*  Only  we  .ilow  of  Two  Inch  plank  for  the  sides  &  ends  above  tbc  Plates  &  beamos. 
t  There  is  to  be  bolb  Roomes  from  the  chimnies  closed  on  both  sides  and  one  Cross  partition 
in  one  of  the  Roomes ;  beside  the  stair  Case. 


AITENDIX     A. 


127 


names  arc  vndcr  written,  dnc  ingag  or  seliies  or  lieyres  executors  for  to  giue 
towards  tlie  al)OU  sd  lious  and  alsoe  a  condit  in  tlio  market  plaeo  tlie  severall 
sunios  vndcr  written. 


£ 


Jo:  Endecotl  ...... 

1".  pd   Ki  Bellingham  in  Country  pay 

jid   Edward  Tynge  in  ("orne  .         . 

pd   Jolin  Euorcd  in  goods  and  corne     . 
pd  iG  s  Petor  <Mliucr  in  goods  and  provisions  . 
John'  Barrett :   in  goods  :  or  corne 
d.  29  Aug.  10.58 
pd   James  Olliiier  provided  tliere  be  aCundit  wil 
goods  ami  provisions  eqelly 
Will  Paine  in  goods  and  provisions 
pd   Kichard  Parker  in  goods  and    provisions 
pd   Nathaniell  Williams  in  goods 
pd    Sarah  I'arlcer  in  provisions     . 
pd    Henry  Powning  in  goods 
pd   John  Cogan  in  Corne      .... 

[         ]    'i^'t'  pound       .... 

paid   Theodore  Atkinson  will  give  in  hats 

Tho  Ilowkings         ..... 

paid   John  Hull  In  English  goods  five'* 
pd    Thomas  Clarke  in  provision  or  goods 
pd    IJolit  Turner   ...... 

])aid    Richard  Cooke  in  provisions  . 
pd    liobert  Swift  ...... 

paid.  Samuel  Hutchinson  in  wheat 
paid   Josh  Scottow  in  pvision  or  goods    . 
pd    Will'"  Hudson  will:  pay  in  bricks  lyeme 
pd        boards  [         ]  or  timber  the  some  of 
Hczekiah  Usher  :  will  pay  2  In  English 
pd       Goods  or  cquivolent,  twentye  :  poundes, 
paid       prouiso  :  y'  y  market  house  bee  Errected 
in  y""  markett  place  '    &  a  Cunditt.     . 
W"'  I)auis  will  pay  in  goods  &  corne  I"ifteene  pounds 
paid        prouided  y^'  market-house  be  eerected  in  y'  markett 
place  &  a  conduitt  also  raised  &  Finished    . 

pd   Thomas  Buttolph 

paid    James  Penn    ....... 

paid   Jacob  Sheafe  in  provision  &  goods 

paid   Tho;   Lake  -i  In  English-goods  &  4  In  provisions 

pd    Isaak  Waker  in  English  goods  or  provisions 
paid    John  Sunderline  :'£         . 
[  ]   pd    I!obt:   Pateshall,  in  planke  or  boards 
paid   Thomas  Matson      ...... 

paid   John  Williams         ...... 

paid   Thomas  Edsell 

paid    Thomas  Bligh  ....... 

paid    Kichard  Gridliy       ...... 

paid   John  Button 

Benjamin  Negus 

James  Eueritt  in  Flower         .... 

Kobt  Batterly 

paid    John  Coney     ....... 

paid    Sanmell  Mattocke 

paid    Rich''  Stanes  . 

paid    Rowland  Story  in  Lewtenant  Cooks  hand 
paid   Ri  Wayte 


2—10—00 

10—00—00  pd 

10— 00— 00  pil 

OI0=zO0— 00  pd 

10=00—00 

03-00-00 

hall  ii 

12—  0—00  pd 

l.->  .  00  .  00 

10—00-00  pd 

03-00-00  pd 

O.j— 00— 00  pd 

02-00-00  pd 

1   0.-.- 00— 00  pd 

005  :  00  :  00  pd 

02       0—  0 

05-00—00  pd 

04-00-00  pd 

5—  0—  0  pd 

03     10     00  pd 

02  .  10     00  pd 

5  .  00-00  pd 

5  :  00—00  pd 

10=00=00  pd 


20=00=00  pd 


15  —  — 

02-00-00 
05—00—00 
12—00—00 
0!)— 00  :  00 
03—00-00 
03—00^00 
05  :  00  :  00 
I—  0—  0 
0—10—  0 
00—10—  0 
00—15  00 
02—00-00 
04—00—  0 

01—00—00 
00-15-00 
00—15-00 
00—  7—00 
00-10-00 
01  :00  :00 
02—00-00 


128 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   KE-DEDICATION. 


paid 

Pliillip  Whorton     . 

paid 

Augusten  Clement. 

paid 

Kicliai'd  Woodde  in  provision  [         ] 

paid 

John  Phillips 

paid 

The  Enions     ..... 

paid 

Thomas  Littcll  thre  dayes  worke    . 

Humphrey  Bradshaw  thre  dayes  worke 

Joseph  Bonde  ten  shilings  by  S.amell  Leniist 

George  Bronie  a  bushel  wheate 

paid 

William  Paddy        . 

paid 

Henry  Kemhle 

paid 

Thomas  Makepeace 

paid 

Joshua  Hewes         .... 
Ffrances  Smitli 

paid 

Francis  Douse 

paid 

John  Pierce    ..... 

paid 

Simon  Eire     .... 

paid 

Comfort  .*^tarr 

paid 

Henry  Phillips 

paid 

Henry  Shrimpton  Corne  wood 

paid 

John  Lowel    .... 

paid 

George  Munioy  three  pounds 

paid 

Jno.  JoyliHe  .... 

paid 

Amos  Kiehardson  . 

pd 

Edmund  Grenleif    . 

pd 

Edward  Porter 

paid 

Nicholas  Phillips     . 

pd 

Thomas  Harwood   . 

paid 

Thomas  Brattle 

paid 

Thomas  Baker  in  Iron  workes 

paid 

John  Biggs  in  Shingle  or  worke 

paid 

Jo:   Marshall  in  shoes 

paid 

Henry  AUine     [         ]     . 

paid 

Hugh  Drury   .... 

paid 

John  Collens  .... 

paid 

Thomas  Scotto 

paid 

Nathanell  Thorn     . 

])aid 

John  Pears      .... 

paid 

William  Reade 

paid 

Will.  Tay        .... 

])aid 

Jo".  Blacklach 

paid 

John  Clough    .... 

paid 

Sam"  Davice  .... 

paid 

Samuell  Cole  .... 

paid 

Christopher  Gilison 

paid 

Robert  Nanney 

paid 

Henry  Bridgham     . 

I)aid 

Thomas  Waker 

paid 

Nathanell  Reynolls 
John  Hnwkincs  tobaco    . 

paid 

Arthur  Masson 

paid 

Ann  Carter  10s        ..         . 

paid 

James  Dauis  by  Tho:  Joy  Gs  &  4s 

more 

paid 

Daniel  Turill  .... 

paid 

Thomas  Fitch 

paid 

Edmund  Jacklin  in  glass  or  worke   if  I  be 

contry  when  the  house  is  to  be  glassed 

paid 

William  Gilison 

paid 

Jeremy  Castine 

in  th' 


02- 

1- 

01- 

03- 

1- 

00- 

00- 

00- 

00- 

12- 

00- 

01- 

00- 

00  . 

00- 

s-1- 

1  . 

01- 

05- 

10- 

03- 

03- 

03  . 

02   : 

0- 

1- 

0- 

1- 

5— 

01- 

002- 

01- 

01- 

01- 

1- 

1- 

0- 

1- 

00- 
00- 
01- 
00- 
00- 
02- 
02- 
02- 
10- 
12- 
01- 
01- 
00- 
00- 
00- 
01- 
00- 


■00-00 

•  0—  0 

•  0—  0 

•  0—  0 

•  0—  0 
■10—  0 

10—  0 
10—  0 
04—00 

-  0-  0 
■10—  0 
00  .  0 
10—  0 
10-00 
09-  0 
■00     — 

10.  0 
■00—00 
■00-00 
■00—00 
■00  00 
■00-00 
00  .  00 
00  .  00 
-10—  0 
■  0—  0 
-10—  0 
■00-  0 

-  0—  0 
■00—  0 
•00-00 

-  0—  0 
00-00 
-00       0 

-  0—  0 

-  0—  0 
-10—  0 

-  0—  0 
-10—00 
-10-00 
-00-00 
-10-00 
-05—00 
-00—00 
-00—00 
-00-00 
00-00 
-10-00 
•00  00 
•00-00 
-10—00 
-10  .  00 
-10-00 
00-00 
-10-00 


01—00=00 
00—06—00 
01—90-00 


APPENDIX    B. 


129 


paiil 

P'l 
paid 
paid 
pel  10s 
paid 
paid 
paid 
paid 


paid 

pd 

pd  5s 


paid 
paid 
paid 
paid 


Edmund  Jackson  by  Tliomas  Fay  • 

Jlii'lis  Tuwno  in  k'tlieT    ..... 

William  Englisli — in  .shoes    .... 

Joscpli  Howe  Twenty  Shillings 

Samuel  Norden  in  shoes  .... 

Hohert  Xasli  in  worke     .... 

Matliew  Barnes  —  paid  1 — 9 — 3 

Thomas  Dewer        ...... 

William  Corser        ...... 

Bartholomew  Cheever     30  s   . 

Henery  Messenger  —  paid       .... 

Will.  Colburn  in  [         ]  or  provision  paid  IGs 
Edward  Goodwin     ...... 

James  Johnson  in  his  Coniodityes  . 
John  Newgat  promise    to  give   five    pound    &  in 

[         ]  the  preveledg  of  our  [         ]     . 
Thomas  Bumsted  of  Boston  promise 
Natha:   Duncan        ...... 

Peter  Duncan  ....... 

John  Wiswall ....... 

Joseph  Wise    ....... 


01—00-00 

00— .">s— 00 

02-00-00 

01—  0—  0 

00—10—  0 

01—10—00 

1—10-00 

01—00—  0 

00-10—  0 

01—10—  0 

0—10—  0 

3  .  00     00 

0— Ofi— 00 

02  :  00  :  00 

10—00-00 
1—00-00 

2 .  . .  ._ 

I— 10— 00 

02—10—  0 
2-00—00 


APPEm)TX   B. 


VOTES   AND   ACTS   IN   REGARD   TO    REBUILDING    THE    TOWN 
HOUSE  AFTER  ^HE  FIRE  IN  1711. 

To  his  Excellency  Joseph  Dudley  Esqr  Capt  General  &  Governour  in  Chie- 
of  Her  Majestys  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  the  Honoble  the  Counf 
cil  and  the  Representatives  in  General  Court  Assembled. 
Octobei  17.  1711. 

Tiie  Humble  Representation  and  Addresse  of  the  Select  Men  of  the  Town 
of  Boston. 

May  it  please  your  E.vcellency 
and  Honours 
Amidst  the  Awfull  Desolation  &  Consumption  of  Many  Dwellings  &  much 
of  the  Substance  of  this  Town  by  the  fiery  dispensation  of  Providence,  It  is 
a  particular  humbling  and  Afflictive  .\rticle  That  the  House  for  Publick  Meet- 
ings on  Civic  Occasions  for  the  Province,  County  &  Town,  viz'  for  the  Meeting 
of  the  General  Assembly,  the  Holdingof  Councils,  &  Courts  of  Justice,  &  Town 
Meetings,  is  new  lying  Waste  in  its  Ashes. 

We  account  it  our  Duty  to  lay  the  Consideration  thereof  before  your  Ex- 
cellency &  this  Hono'''°  Assembly  and  humbly  pray  your  Advice  &  Direction 
for  the  Restoring  &  Rebuilding  of  the  House  for  those  Publick  Uses  &  about 
the  place  where  to  set  the  same 

That  what  is  most  Honorable  for  the  Government  may  be  done  therein. 

And  Crane  Icaue  to  Subscribe 
Your  Exci'ilcy  &  Honours 
Obedient  humble  Servants 
p  Order  and  in  the  Name  of  the  s''  .Select  Men 

Josiii'n  Pkout  Town  Clerk 


130  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 


In  the  House  of  Representatives  October  22.  1711.  Re.Tcl  & 

Ordered  tliat  Samuel  Appleton  Josiali  Cliapin  .In"  Clarke  James  Warren 

Esqrs,  Major  Thomas  Fitcli  Capt  Simon  Davis  &  Capt  Samuel  Phipps  be   a 

Committee  to  Joine  with  suoli  as  tlie  llonoble  Board  shall  appoint  to  Consider 

of  this  Addresse  &  Report  their  opinion  of  what  is  proper  to  be  done  therein. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

*         John  Buurii.l  Speaker. 

Die  pred  :  In  Council 

Read  and  concurred.  And  Elisha  Hutchinson  Samuel  Sewall  Nathl  Payne 
&  Thomas  Noyes  Esqrs  Named  of  tlie  Committee  for  tlie  affair  afores'',  Elislia 
Hutcliinson  Esqr  to  Appoint  time  &  place 

I.SAAC  Aduington  Secretary. 

The  above  Committee  Advise  that  there  be  a  House  built  in  or  Near  the 
place  where  the  OUl  Town  House  Stood  for  the  Uses  mentioned  in  the  Memo- 
rial as  convenient  as  may  be  without  incommoding  the  Street  The  breadth  not 
to  Excecdc  thirty  six  feet  tlie  length  So  as  to  be  Convenient  for  the  ends  Men- 
tioned in  the  Addresse  That  a  Committee  be  Appointed  by  this  CoiiH  to  Takt 
Cure  for  the  building  as  speedili/  ^•prudently  as  maybe  The  Cliarge  thereof 
to  be  borne  the  one  half  by  tlie  Province,  the  other  half  by  the  Town  of  Boston 
&  County  of  Suffolk  in  equal  Proportion.' 

By  Order  of  Major  part  of  the  Committee 

Elisua  Hutchinson 
Nov  0"'  1711.     In  Council  Read  &  sent  down 
In  the  House  of  Representatives  Nov  9"'.  1711. 
Read  &  Accepted  with  the  Amendments. 

John  Burhill  Speaker, 

Novembe"'  10.  1711.     In  Council  Read  and  Concurred 

And  that  Elisha  Hutchinson  and  Penn  Townsend  Esq^'with  snch  as  shall  be 
Named  by  the  Representatives  be  a  committee  for  the  affaair.  The  Committe 
to  Advise  witli  bis  Exc^y  &  such  skillfull  Gentlemen  they  may  think  fitte 
to  be  consulted  with  about  the  Model  of  the  House 

Sent  down  for  C'oncurrence  Isaac  Addington  Secretary. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives 

Novemb''  10.  1711.  Read  &  Concurred  And  Addington  Davenport  Sam" 
Thaxter  Esqr'  &  Capt.  Phipps  be  Named  for  the  office  with  libertie  to  the 
Town  of  Boston  to  Joine  Two  Persons  More 

John  Burkill  Speaker 
Agreed  to  &  Consented  to  by  Jos:  Dudley 
General  Courts  order  for 
Rebuilding  the  Town  House 
in  Boston  Novcm'  1711 
Massachusetts  Archives.     Book  113.  pp.  618  C19. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives 
Nov'-O'i-  1711. 

Resolved  That  the  Sum  of  fforty  Pounds,  be  Allowed,  out  of  the  publick 
Treasury  to  M'  Benj":  Johns,  for  the  use  this  Court  makes  of  his  House,  in  a 
year,  beginning   the   17"':    Octo'  last   (if   they  improve   it  so  long)   Fifteen 

*A  copy  of  this  report  preserved  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  is  printed  in  the 
City  volume  on  the  Dedication  of  the  present  City  Hall  in  1S65.  There  is  on  it  this  menioran 
dum ;  "Note,  That  the  House  is  for  Publick  Meetings  on  Civil  Occasions:  for  the  Province, 
County  and  Town,  viz,  for  the  Meeting  of  the  General  Assembly,  the  Uoldiug  of  Councils 
and  Courts  of  Justice,  and  Town  meeting. 


APPENDIX   B.  131 


Poiinils  thereof  to  be  now  drawn  out  of  the  Treasury,  the  Uemahuler  as  tliis 
Court  sliall  order. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence.  John  Cukrill  Speaker 

In  Council 
Nov'  10">  1711. 

Read  and  concurred 

I.s-*:   Addincton  Scctr'y. 
Book  48  p.  420 

Court  Records,  p.  244.     Passed  in   House  of  Representatives,  read  and  con- 
curred. 
Nov.  7  1712. 

Ordered  that  it  he  an  Instruction  to  the  Connnittee  appointed  to  build  tlie 
Province  &  Court  House  that  tliey  lit  the  East  Clianiher  for  the  Use  of  His 
Excellency  the  Governor  &  the  Hon''"''  the  Council,  the  Middle  Chaniher  for 
the  House,  the  West  Chamber  for  the  Sup'  &  Inff  Courts. 

Ordered  that  there  he  but  two  offices   below  stairs   in  the  Province  &  Court 
House  now  Buildins;  in  Boston  one  for  the  Secretary  the  other  for  the  Regis- 
ter of  Deeds  in  the  County  of  Suffolk,  Consented  to,  J.   Dudlev. 
In  the  House  of  Representatives. 

March  21  :   1711. 
Ordered  That  It  be  an  Instruction  to  the  Committee  appointed  to  Build  the 
Court  House  or  Exchans^e  in  Boston,  Tliat  It  lie  not  more  than  One  Hundred 
&  twelve,  nor  Icsse  than  one  Hundred  &  ten  ffeet  in  length. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence,  John  Burkili.  Speaker 

In  Council. 
March  21.  1711.  P-  125. 

Read  and  Concurr'd 

I.s'*  Addington  Sccrj' 

At  a  Council  held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston  upon  Saturday  the  23"' 
of  August  1712. 

The  Committee  for  overseeing  the  building  of  the  Court  &  Town  House  in 
Boston  moving  for  a  further  supply  of  money 

Advised  &  consented  That  a  Warrant  be  made  out  to  the  Treasurer  to 
advance  &  pay  to  M'  William  Payne  of  the  said  Connnittee  and  deputed  their 
treasurer  tlie  further  sum  of  Five  hundred  pounds  over  and  above  the  Five 
hundred  pounds  already  drawn  for  at  twice  to  be  imployed  for  and  about  the 
said  Building  he  to  he  accomptable  for  the  disposal  of  it  accordingly. 

Council  Records,  1708  to  1712,  page  598. 

At  a  Council  held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston  upon  Friday  the  15'i> 
February   1711. 

The  Committee  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  Town  &  Court  House  in  Boston 
now  in  hand  with,  [iroposing  to  have  two  hundred  pounds  advanced  towards 
the  s''  Building  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  M""  William  Payne  by  them 
deputed  a  Treasurer  for  paying  of  the  workmen  &c. 

Pursuant  to  the  Grant  of  the  General  Assembly,  Advised  ■&  consented 
That  a  Warrant  be  made  out  to  the  Treasurer  to  advance  and  pay  the  sum  of 
Two  hundred  pounds  to  the  said  M'  Payne  for  the  use  aforesaid  upoiv  Ac- 
compt  accordingly. 

Council  Records,  page  .522. 

At  a  Council  held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston  upon  Monday,  the 
18"'  of  February  1711. 

An  accompt  of  Disbursements  by  the  Select  men  of  Boston  in  repairs  of 
the  late  Town  house  from  Septemh''  .1"'  170!)  to  the  time  of  its  des(dation, 
amounting  to  Eleven  pounds  two  shillings  &  one  penny  presented  and 


132  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 


Pursuant  to  the  Act  of  the  General  Assembly, 

Advised  &  considered  That  a  Warrant  he  made  out  tliereupon  to  the 
Treasurer  to  pay  Five  pounds  eleven  shillings  &  one  penny,  i  being  one  half 
of  the  afores""  Disburse  to  tlie  Town  Treasurer  of  Boston. 

At  a  Council  held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston  upon  Monday  the 
29"' of  December  1712. 

Present     His  Excellency  Joseph  Dudley  Esq'  Gov' 

Elisha  Hutchinson  W">  Hutchinson  Andrew  Belcher  Peter  Sergeant  Esq™ 
Penn  Townsend  Esq"  EdW  Bronifield  Esq"  Isaac  Addington  Esq'. 

The  Committee  for  overseeing  the  building  of  the  Court  &  Town  House  in 
Boston  moveing  for  a  further  supply  of  money  for  tliat  occasion 

Pursuant  to  tlie  Grant  of  the  General  Assembly. 

Advised  &  consented  That  a  Warrant  be  made  out  to  the  Treasurer  to  ad- 
vance the  further  sum  of  Five  hundred  pounds  (over  vt  above  One  thousand 
pounds  already  issued  by  several  Draughts)  to  M'  William  Payne  of  the 
said  Committee  &  deputed  their  Treasurer  to  be  employed  for  and  upon  the 
said  Building,  He  to  be  accomptable  for  the  disposal  of  it  accordingly. 

Council  Records,  page  639. 

At  a  Council  held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston  upon  Mondav  tlie  fi"' 
of  April  1713. 

Pursuant  to  a  Resolve  pnss'd  by  the  General  Assembly  at  their  Session  in 
March  last,  that  the  Treasu'  be  directed  to  supply  the  Treasurer  of  the  Town 
of  Boston  with  the  sum  of  Four  hundred  &  fifty  pounds  in  the  public  bills  of 
credit  to  be  applyed  towards  the  carrying  on  &  finishing  the  Trtwn  House  or 
edifice  now  in  building  in  Boston,  as  part  of  tlie  Town's  proportion  of  that 
charge,  he  taking  good  &  sufficient  security  for  the  repaying  of  the  s*  sum 
into  the  Treasury  again  on  or  before  the  twentyeth  day  of  February  ne.xt 

Advised  &  consented  That  a  Warrant  be  made  out  to  the  Treasurer  to  ad- 
vance &  supply  to  M'  Joseph  Prout  present  Treasurer  of  the  Town  of  Boston 
the  aforesaid  sum  of  Four  luindred  &  fifty  pounds  in  Bills  of  publick  credit 
for  the  use  aforesaid  taking  good  &  sufficient  security  for  the  repayment  of 
the  same  again  accordingly.  Council  Records,  1712  to  1718,  page  22. 

At  a  Council  held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston  upon  Wednesday 
April  29'!'  1713. 

Present     His  Excellency  Joseph  Dudley  Esq'.  Governour  &s. 

Pursuant  to  the  vote  of  the  G<'neral  Assembly  at  their  Session  in  October 
1711  for  the  raising  of  a  new  edifice  within  the  town  of  Boston  in  or  near  the 
place  where  the  Town  House  stood  before  the  desolation  thereof  by  fire  for 
Publick  Meetings  on  civil  occasions  for  the  use  of  the  Province  County  & 
Town  the  charge  thereof  to  be  borne  the  one  half  by  the  Province  the  other 
half  by  the  Town  of  Boston  &  county  of  Suffolk  in  equal  proportion. 

Advised  &  consented  that  a  Warrant  be  made  to  the  Treasurer  to  advance 
&  pay  to  M'  William  Payne  of  the  Committee  for  overseeing  the  Building  of 
the  s"!  House  &  deputed  to  their  Treasurer  the  further  sum  of  Five  hundred 
pounds  over  &  above  what  has  been  already  advanced  to  him  towards  that 
work,  he  to  be  accomptable  for  the  disposal  of  it  accordingly. 

Council  Records,  1712  to  1718,  p.  32. 

At  a  Council  held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston  upon  Wednesday,  the 
221  of  July  17]3. 

M'  William  Payne  of  the  Committee  for  overseeing  the  building  of  the 
Court  &  Town  House  in  Boston  &  deputed  their  Treasurer  luoving  for  a  further 
supply  of  money  towards  defreying  the  charge  thereof 

Advised  &  consented  That  a  Warrant  be  luade  out  to  the  Treasurer  to  ad- 
vance &  pay  to  the  s''  William  Payne  of  the  Committee  &  Treasurer  as  aforesaid 
the  further  suiu  of  Five  hundred  pounds  for  that  service  to  be  eiuployed  on 
&  about  the  Building  he  to  be  accomptable  for  the  disposal  of  it  accordingly. 

Ibid.,  page  68. 


APPENDIX   B.  133 

August  27,  1713.  Aecompt  presented  by  M^  W"'  Payne  of  expenses  in  tlic 
Council  cliamber,  wliere  liis  Exceli^J'  was  attemleil  liy  tlie  Cimneil  dfliecrs 
civil  &  military  and  otiier  Gent  and  on  the  Kegiinent  under  their  arms  attend- 
ing His  Excellency  on  the  24"'  of  August  currant  at  the  Publication  of  the 
Peace  between  Her  Majesty  &  tlie  French  King  amounting  to  Fourteen 
pounds  &  eight  shilling. 

Advised  &  consented  to  pay  the  above  sum.  Ibid.,  p.  8G. 

March  10,  1713. 

Council  Advised  &  consented  to  pay  Mr  William  Payne  of  the  Committee 
for  overseeing  the  Building  of  the  Town  House  in  Boston  the  sum  of  seventy 
one  pounds  nine  shillings  and  five  pence  being  the  balance  remaining  due 
from  the  Province  to  their  part  of  the  charge  for  building  s<i  house  according 
to  the  Report  of  the  Connnittee  for  auditing  the  Acconipts  thereof  accepted 
by  the  General  Assembly. 

Ibid.,  page  ICO. 

Town  Records.     Nov  IG,  1711.  Vol  2,  p.  333. 

Voted.  A  Concurnence  with  the  proposalls  made  by  the  Gen"  Assembly 
Af  building  a  House  in  or  neer  the  place  where  the  Old  Town  House  stood, 
for  the  uses  therein  Mentioned,  with  an  addition  of  these  words  [and  all  other 
Town  affaires]  as  part  of  the  uses  thereof. 

Voted.  That  Tlionias  Brattle  Esq"'  and  n\'  William  Payn  be  the  persons 
nominated  &  Chosen  by  this  Town  to  joyn  w"'  the  committee  Raised  by  the 
Gen"  Court  to  manage  that  affair.  » 

Selectmen's  minutes.     Anno  1711  :  Dccemb''  10"'  p.  25. 

Voted.  That  Thomas  Bratic  Esq',  m'  Josiah  Tay,  nir'  Eliz"  Maccarty  & 
ni"  Eliz"  Powning  shall  be  taken  into  Consideration  in  order  to  Satisfaction 
for  their  Houses  w''^  were  Blown  up  in  order  to  Stop  the  progress  of  the  fire 
W^l"  hapened  in  this  Town  y'  1"'  of  Octoh''  Last. 

p.  2G.     Also  .James  Meers,   Martha  Gwin,   Sarah   Dynly  &  Rich*  Proctor, 
for  their  Houses  being  blown  up. 
Thorn'  Brattle  Esq.  allowed  Thirty  Pounds 
Isaiah  Tay  Tiiirty-five  Pounds 

Eliz"  Maccarty  Sixty  " 

Eliz»  Powning  Thirty  five      " 

James  Meers  Twenty  five    " 

Martha  Gwin  Twenty  five    " 

Sarah  Dinely  Ten  " 

Richard  Proctor  Ten  " 


{From    fhe    original,    in    ihe  })ossession    of    the    Massachusetis    Historical 

Society.) 

"RELATING     TO    Y^    TOWN     HOUSE     RENTS.       READ     MARCH 

10™    1711-12." 

"  Whereas  the  Rents  reserved  to  the  Town  of  Boston  for  several  spare 
Rooms  in,  under,  and  .Adjoyning  to  the  late  Town  House  beside  all  rooms 
made  use  of  there  for  Publiek  Occasion.?,  did  according  to  the  Rates  they 
were  lett,  or  might  have  been  Lett  at  amount  to  Eighty  pounds  P'  annum. 

And  the  Great  and  Gen"  Court  or  Assembly  of  this  I'rovince  haveing  lately 
directed.  That  there  he  a  House  built  in  or  neer  the  place  where  the  Old 
Town  House  stood,  for  Publiek  meetings  on  Civill  Occasions  For  Province 
County  and  Town,  A'^iz'.  For  the  Meeting  of  the  Gen"  .Assembly,  The  h(ddiug 
of  Couneills  and  Courts  of  Justice  and'Town  Meetings,  the  Charge  thereof 


134  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 


to  be  born  tbe  One  halfe  by  tlie  Province,  the  Otlier  halfe  by  the  Town  of 
Boston  anil  County  of  Suffnlk  in  Equall  proportion,  unto  which  proposal  the 
Inhabitants  of  I?oston  have  Voted  their  Concurrance. 

And  since  there  is  prospect  of  as  great  if  not  greater  improvem''  and  advan- 
tage by  such  spare  room  in  the  s''  new  buikling  now  to  he  Erected,  it  may 
not  be  unseasonable  for  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Town  now  to  make  Sutable 
provision  to  secure  tliat  priviledge  and  benefitt  to  tlieni  selves  and  their  suc- 
cessors. 

And  altlio  other  Arguments  might  be  of  weight  for  their  being  so  benefitted, 
Yet  ratlier  then  forego  and  lose  the  same,  May  it  not  be  adviscable  for  them 
to  agree  ujion  bearing  some  Additional  Cliarge  in  y'  s''  buihling  as  an  Equiva- 
lent, Tliat  so  tliey  may  be  thereby  EtFectually  Intitiille<l  to  tlie  benefit  and 
improvement  of  all  such  rooms  and  spaiees  in  under  and  adjoyning  to  the 
gd  New  building  wliich  shall  be  conveniently  capalde  of  l)eing  inclosed  and 
Improved  for  di.-^tinct  uses,  and  otherwise  not  needfull  to  be  made  use  of  for 
those  afore  mentioned  intentions  proposed  by  the  Gen"  Court,  and  thereby  to 
Lessen  tlie  Charge  of  the  Province,  Town  and  County  in  tlieir  respective 
proportions  as  aforesaid.  Tlie  which  additionall  charge,  together  with  the 
Charge  of  Incloseing  and  fitting  of  shopps  &c.  there,  may  (if  the  town  sees 
meet)  to  very  good  advantage  l)e  defrayd  out  of  tliat  their  money  w<^'>  is  the 
Effects  of  Lands  sold  and  in  Equity  ought  to  be  so  layd  out  as  to  raise  and 
perpetuate  an  income  to  the  Town. 

And  in  case  sutable  Application  be  made  to  the  Gen"  Court  on  the  behalfe 
of  this  Town  relating  to  the  jiremisies,  under  the  consideration  of  their  Ex- 
cessive growing  Charge  and  Exjifnces,  &  tlieir  so  great  a  loss  by  the  Late  Eire 
&  that  the  Late  Town-House  W"  was  built  at  the  Charge  of  y''  Inhabitants  of 
this  Town  was  for  necr  fifty  years  past  made  use  of  for  all  Publiek  Occasions 
w"'out  any  other  Cliarge  to  the  Public  then  that  for  some  of  the  Later  years 
they  have  born  part  of  y^'  Charge  of  y''  Hepaires. 

And  that  the  Town  of  Boston  being  the  true  and  proper  Owners  of  all  that 
Land  on  w''"  the  said  New  building  is  now  to  be  erected.  It  is  presumed  that 
they  will  readily  agree  unto  so  just  and  reasonable  a  proposal. 

Proposed  By  Joseph  Prout  Bead  at  y*  begining  of  y"  Town  meeting  y°  10"' 
of  March  1711-12. 


APPENDIX   C. 


PAPERS     RELATING    TO    THE    REBUILDING     OF     THE     TOWN 
HOUSE    IN   1747. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  Dec'  0,  1747 

Ordered  that  the  Select  Men  of  the  Town  of  Boston  be  desired  to  take  care 
of  the  Materials  belonging  to  the  late  Court  House  which  are  preserved  from 
the  Flames. 

Sent  up  for  concurrence  ^ 

T.  Hutchinson  Spkr. 
In  Council  DcC  9.  1747     Read  &  Concurr'd 

J.  WiLL.\RD  Secy 
Consented  to 

W.  ShirleV 
Massachusetts  Afchivcs,  Book  49.  p.  204 


APPENDIX   C.  135 


In  the  House  of  Representatives  Dec.  0.  1747. 

Tlie  House  taking  into  further  consideration  the  awful  Providence  of  God 
this  Morning  in  tlie  destruction  of  the  Court  House  and  great  part  of  the 
publielv  Records  by  Fire. 

Ordered  that  tlie  Speaker  Col"  Stoddard  Col"  Heath  Col"  Choate  W  Frost 
Capt  Partridge  and  Col"  Otis  with  such  as  the  Hon'''^'  Board  shall  .Toyn,  be  a 
Committee  to  Consider  and  Report  what  is  necessary  to  be  done  by  the  Court 
at  this  Juncture. 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T.  HiiTcuiNsoN  Spkr 

In  Council  Pee'  9.  17-t7.     Read  &  Concurred, 
&  JosiahWillard,  Sam' Walley,  John  Cushing,  John  Quincy,  John  Chandler 
&  And"'  Oliver  Esq's  ar^.  joined  in  y''  Affair 

J.  ^yILI.ARI>  Secy. 
Book  49.  p.  205. 
Committee  to  provide  Boards  for 
the  Court  House  Walls 
Dec.  10  1747. 
Entered 
In  the  House  of  Representatives  Dec.  11,  1747. 

Ordered  that  IP  Frost  with  such  as  the  Hon'''''  Board  shall  Joyne  be  directed 
to  Contract  for  sixty  thousand  feet  of  ISoards  forty  thousand  of  tlieni  Merchant- 
able and  twenty  thousand  clear  for  the  Service  of  the  Province  and 

Also  three  thousand  feet  of  one  Inch  and  half  clear  StufTand  three  thousand 
feet  of  Stuff  for  Window  Frames 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T.  Hutchinson  Spkr. 

In  Council  December  11*  1747.  Read  and  Concurr'd  and  John  Hill  Esq' 
is  Joyned  in  the  Affair 

J.  WiLLARD  Secry 
Book  49.  p.  206.  Consented  to  W.  Siiiklky. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  Dec'  11"'  1747 

Ordered  that  the  Select  Men  of  Boston  be  desired  and  inipowcrcd  to  Secure 
the  Walls  of  the  late  Court  House  from  the  inconveniences  of  the  Weather  by 
Causing  the  same  to  be  covered  with  Boards  in  the  best  and  cheapest  manner 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T.  Hutchinson  Spkr 

In  Council  Dec'  11  1747     Read  and  Concurr'd 

J.  Wii.LARD  Secrv. 

Book  49.  p".   207. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  March  3,  1747 

Ordered  that  Col"  Hale  Col"  Otis  M'  Boardnian  M'  Fore  and  M'  Hub- 
bard with  such  as  the  Hon'''  Board  shall  a])pciint  be  a  Connnittee  to  Consider 
and  Report  a  proper  place  in  the  Town  of  Boston  for  building  a  New  Court 
House 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T.  Hutchinson  Spkr. 

In  Council  March  3,   1747. 

Read  &  Concur'd  And  Jacob  Wendell,  Samuel  Danforth,  Sam' Watts,  .Tohn 
Chandler,  &  Ezekiel  Chevcr  Esq"=.  are  joined  in  the  Affair 

J.  WiLLARi)  Secry 

Book  49.  p.  510 


136  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 


In  the  House  of  Representatives  9  Marcli  1747 

Voted  that  tlie  hite  Court  House  in  the  Town  of  Boston  lie  Repaired  as  soon 
as  eonveniently  niay  he  &  tliat  one  half  the  Charsre  tliereof  lie  home  by  the 
Province  the  other  half  hy  the  County  of  Suffolk  &  the  Town  of  Boston 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T.  Hutchinson  Spkr. 
In  Council,  March  9,  1717;   Read  &  Coneur'd, 

J.  WiLLAUD  Secry 
Consented  to 

W.  Shirley 

Book  49,  p.  211 
In  the  House  of  Representatives  March  11,  1747. 

Whereas  it  has  been  determined  by  this  Court  that  the  late  Court  House 
should  be  repaired,  and  that  one  half  the  Charge  should  be  born  hy  the  Coun- 
tv  of  Suffolk  and  the  Town  of  Boston,  but  the  proportion  between  the  County 
and  Town  is  not  settled  by  said  vote. 

Resolved  that  one  quarter  part  of  the  Chari^e  of  repairing  s''  House  be  horn 
hy  the  said  County,  and  one  quarter  part  by  said  Town.  Also  voted  that  M' 
Speaker  M'  Hubbard  and  M'  .\llen  with  such  as  tlie  Hon''''  Board  shall  Joyn 
be  a  Comin™  to  Purchase  and  Procure  proper  Materials  to  Ert'eil  the  repair  of 
said  House  agreealile  to  the  vote  of  the  10"'  Curr'.  .\lso  to  Prepare  a  Plan  of 
the  Inside  Work  that  the  room  may  be  so  dispos'd  as  will  he  most  beneficial 
to  the  Province  County  and  Town.  And  that  they  Lay  the  same  before  this 
Court,  with  an  Estimate  of  the  Charge  at  their  next  sitting 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T.  Hutchinson  Spkr. 

In  Council ;  Mar.  10.  1747;  Read  &  Coneur'd  &  Jacob  Wendell  &  Andrew 
Olliver  Esq"^.  are  Joined  in  the  Aflair 

J.  WiLLARD  Secry. 
Consented  to, 

W.  Shirley 

Book  49.  212,  213. 

The  Committee  appointed  the  11  Ins*  to  procure  Materials  to  eft'ect  the  Re- 
pairs of  the  Court  House  &  to  prepare  a  Plan  &  make  an  Estimate  of  the 
Charge,  have  divers  times  met,  &  consulted  Workmen  thereupon :  and  beg 
leave  to  report 

That  in  obedience  to  the  order  of  the  HonWo  General  Court,  they  have 
taken  measures  for  procuring  the  Lumber  needful  for  this  purpose  &  have 
actually  agreed  for  a  great  part  of  it. 

The  Committee  herewith  present  a  Plan  of  the  inside  Work,  which  they 
apprehend  will  be  the  most  commodious  &  best  answer  the  design  of  the 
Building;  and  upon  the  best  information  they  can  obtain  they  judge  that  the 
said  Repairs  will  amount  to  Eighteen  thousand  One  luindred  &  four  Pounds 
old  tenf  as  by  the  Estimate  herewith,  all  which  is  humbly  submitted. 

Jacob  Wendell  by  order 
March  31 :  1748 

In  Council  April  7.  1747.     Read  &  sent  down. 
In  the  House  of  Representatives  12'  April  1748 

Read  and  Ordered  that  the  Committee  be  directed  to  Proceed  &  cause  the 
Court  House  to  be  rebuilt  agreeable  to  the  Plan  laid  before  the  Court  with 
this  Report. 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T.  Hutchinson  Spkr 
In  Council  April  13,  1748 ;  Read  &  Coneur'd 

J.  Willard  Secry. 
Consented  to 

W.  Shirley. 

Book  49.  pp.  214,  215. 


APPENDIX   C.  137 


In  the  House  of  Representatives  April  8.  1748 

Voted  that  the  Treasurer  be  directed  to  Pay  into  the  hands  of  the  Coni- 
niittoe  for  pureliasin;;  Materials  for  huiUling  a  Court  House  the  Sum  of  One 
hundred  pounds  out  of  the  Appropriation  for  payment  of  matters  &  things  for 
which  there  is  no  Establishment.     The  said  Connn«  to  be  accountable 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T.  Hutchinson  Spkr. 

In  Council  April  9"'.  1748.     Read  &  Concur"d 

J.  Willard  Secry. 
Consented  to 

W    SniELEY. 

Book  49.  p.  21G 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  June  15  1748 

Voted  that  the  Committee  app'^''  to  take  care  of  the  rebuilding  the  Court 
House  be  allowed  to  receive  out  of  the  publick  Treasury  the  Sum  of  fifteen 
hundred  pounds  to  Enable  them  to  Proceed  in  that  Atfair.  The  said  Com- 
mittee to  be  accountable. 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T  Hutchinson  Spkr 
In  Council  June  15  1748     Read  and  Concurr'd 

J.  Willard  Secry. 
Consented  to 

W.  Shirley. 

Book  49.  p.  228. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  Nov  22,  1748. 

Ordered  that  tlie  Sum  of  fifteen  Hundred  i)ounds  be  paid  out  of  the  Treasury 
into  the  hands  of  the  Comnr"  app''^"'  to  take  care  of  the  repairs  of  the  Town 
House  &c    They  to  be  accountable 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

T.  Hutchinson  Spkr. 
In  Council  Nov'.  22.  1748     Read  &  Coneur'd 

J.  Willard  Secry. 
Consented  to 

W.   Shirley. 

Book  49.  p.  2.38 

To  The  Hon'"''^ :  Spencer  Phips  Esq' :  Leiv'  Governour  and  Commander  in 
cheif  in  and  over  his  Majesty's  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  Eng- 
land, To  the  Hon'  his  Majesty's  Council,  and  to  the  Honb'  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  General  Court  Assembled, 

The  Petition  of  Abigail  Halyburton  of  Boston  Widow,  humbly  sheweth. 
That  in  the  year  1747  when  tlie  Court  House  was  consumed  by  Fire,  his 
Majesty's  Council  took  a  Room  in  the  House  slie  had  hired  of  Madam  Stod- 
dard, for  which  she  did  not  intend  to  trouble  your  Honour  and  this  Hon^e 
Court  about,  but  on  her  Settling  her  Accounts  of  Rent  with  said  Mad"'  Stod- 
dard lately  she  h.ad  obliged  her  to  pay  Thirty  four  Pounds  old  Tencu'  for  the 
Rent  of  that  House,  when  she  had  no  other  Improvement  for  it  than  for  his 
Majesty's  Council  to  sit  in  as  aforesaid,  j'our  Memorialist  begs  leave  further  to 
represent,  th.at  at  the  same  Time  at  Col"  Pollard's  request  she  was  at  about 
Eight  Pounds  old  Tenor  costs  for  Forms  for  the  Council  Use,  and  she  has 
had  no  Allowance  for  either  Forms,  or  Rents  therefore  she  prays  your  Honours 
to  take  the  Premises  into  consideration  &  make  her  such  Allowance  as  you  ir. 
your  great  Wisdom  shall  think  proper  and  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever 
pray 

Abigaill  Hallyburton 

Book  49.  p.  262. 


138  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

In  the  House  of  R'=P'-<;'f"'^''^''^ji'^"/,{°  pgl  be  so  for  granted  as  that  the 
Read  and  0';^ '^-f  '  '^  '^W    k  t1      v  the  S^nn  of  thfee  pounds  in  full' 
K:  ^^y:::^o:^:^^^^^ro..,in  ..  service  of  the  Province 
when  the  late  Court  House  was  Consumed  by  fire. 

Sent  up  for  concurrence 

J.  DwiGHT  Spkr. 

In  Council  Jan.  10.  1749    Read  &  Concur'd  ^    ^^^^^^^  ^^^^^ 

Consented  to  g  pmpg. 

p.  263. 

In  the  House  f  ^^^''''"'':'}'f'.-Jl^^^ ^^^^  Committee  appointed 

Ordered  that  t  .e  ri;oasure>  be  duecR^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^,^^^^^^„^ 

"^^  r::ful  MonTto  b^^S  tKaid  to  the  workmen  .c  Who  have  per- 
'"The  sai']  Cmnm'e  ^  be  accountable  for  their  doings  to  this  Court. 

Sent  up  for  concurrence  ^^^^  Hubbard  Spkr  pro  Tempore 

In  Council  Jan.  26,  1749  ;  Read  &  concur'd  ^    ^^^^^^^^  ^^^^_^ 

Consented  to  g    pmps 

Book  49,  p.  264. 
In  the  House  of  K<^presentatives  March  31  1^^  ^^  ^^^ 

CorS:Ltt^'drre^ctr;f  ^rSrcorfu;on\he  Tab.  as  Ln  as  may 

Sent  up  for  concurrence  ^^^^  Hubbari>  Spkr  pro  Tempas. 

In  Council  March  31  1750  Holbrook  Dep'y  Secry 

Read  and  Concurred 

Consented  to  g   p^pj^.  p,  266. 

In  the  House  of  RfP^^^^^j^'^lit  nound;  Ihfrteen  shillings  and  four  pence 
Ordered  that  the  Sum  of  Six  y  Six  pounds  tmrtee  -       ^      repairing 

^:^io^Xt^^^:^'^^^^  ^l  -uble  in  taking  care  of 
said  Repairs  &c.  to  be  equally  proportiond  among  them. 

Sent  up  for  concurrence  ^  Hdbbabd  Spkr  pro  Tempore 

In  Council  April  19.  1750  Read  &  Concur'd     ^^^^^  holbrook  Dy  Seery 

Consented  to  g   pjups 

Book  49.     p.  277. 

At  a  Great  ^Oener^ Cot.tc.  Assembly  ^;^;>f  ^^Snu^Xi^-S 
S^r  ^:mi;i^o:.^S^ie^;"us  Majestys  Writts. 

Friday  Octo-  5.  IToO  ^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^,i,  ,;„„  ,^       Town 

Houset  Bo° "rn  wasTthe  General  Coui^ordered^^b^P^^ 

paid  in  full.  — W.H.W. 


APPENDIX  C.  139 


the  Province,  one  quarter  part  thereof  by  the  Town  of  Boston,  &  the  other 
quarter  part  thereof  hy  tlie  County  of  Suflblk,  &  it  has  been  resolved  by  the 
General  Court  tliat  the  saiil  Town  &  County  shall  pay  the  same  proportion  in 
the  late  Repairs  tlicreof,  the  whole  Charge  of  whieh  Repairs  amounts  to 
thirty  seven  hundred  &  five  pounds  eleven  Shillings  &  four  pence  Lawful 
money ; 

Wherefore  Ordered  that  the  Town  of  Boston  aforesaid  pay  into  the 
Province  Treasury  Nine  hundred  twenty  six  pounds  seven  shillings  &  ten 
pence,  being  one  quarter  part  of  the  Charge  of  said  Repairs;  And  the 
Province  Treasurer  is  hereby  ordered  &  directed  to  proportion  the  Sum  of 
Nine  hundred  &  twenty  six  pounds  seven  shillings  &  ten  pence,  to  and  among 
the  Towns  in  the  County  of  Suffolk,  according  to  the  Proportion  whicli  each 
Town  in  said  County  l)ore,  one  to  tlie  other,  in  the  last  Province  Tax;  And 
the  Treasurer  is  further  Ordered  to  give  out  his  Warrants  to  the  Assessors  of 
the  Town  of  Boston  for  the  year  1750  requiring  them  to  Assess  the  Sum  of 
Nine  hundred  twenty  six  pounds  seven  shillings  &  ten  pence  on  the  Polls  cS; 
Estates  in  the  said  Town  of  Boston,  according  to  the  Direction  of  the  last 
Province  Tax  Act,  &  also  to  give  out  his  Warrants  to  the  Assessors  of  the 
several  Towns  in  said  County  of  Sulfolk,  requiring  them  to  assess  on  Polls  & 
Estates  in  their  respective  Towns  their  proportionable  Parts  of  the  said  sum 
of  Nine  hundred  &  twenty  six  pounds  seven  shillings  &  ton  ponce  by  the 
same  Rule  aforesaid  :  And  the  said  Treasurer  &  the  Assessors  aforesaid,  and  the 
Collectors  and  Constables  to  wlioui  the  Assessment  for  the  Tax  aforesaid 
shall  be  committed,  be  &  hereby  are  fully  impowered  &  directed  to  act  in  their 
respective  offices  for  the  enforcing  the  Paj'ment  of  said  sums  into  the  Province 
Treasury  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  March  next,  in  all  respects,  as  by  the 
Law  of  this  province,  said  Officers  are  impowered  to  do  for  the  enforcing  the 
Payments  of  Province  Taxes. 

In  Council;  Read  &  Non  Concur'd 

A  true  Copy  as  of  Record 

Attesf  Saml  Holbrook  D     Seery. 
Book  49.  p.  298. 

Dec.  9.  1747.     In  the  House  of  Represent.alives, 

Ordered  that  M'  Frost,  Cap'.  Partridge  &  Col".  Otis  with  such  as  the 
Hon'"''.  Board  shall  appoint  be  a  Committee  to  inquire  after  &  secure  any 
Books  Records  &  Papers  that  may  have  been  preserved  from  the  Flames, 
which  consumed  the  Court  House  this  morning. 

Ill  Council  Read  &  Concur'd  ;  and  Josiah  Willard,  Samuel  Welles  &  Andrew 
Oliver  Esq"5  are  joined  in  the  Affair.     Court  Records  p.  273,  274. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives.  Ordered  that  the  Select  men  of  Boston 
be  desired  &  impowered  to  secure  the  Walls  of  the  late  Court  House  from 
the  Inconveniences  of  the  Weather  by  causing  them  to  be  covered  with 
Boards  in  the  best  &  cheapest  manner.  In  Council,  Read  &  Concur'd.  Con- 
sented to  by  the  Governour. 

p:.278 

March  2,  1747.      [i.e.,  1747-48.] 

His  Excellenc)'  sent  the  following  Message  to  the  House  by  the  Secretary, 
viz' 

Gentleuicn  of  the  House  of  Representatives 

At  the  beginning  of  this  Session  I  recommended  to  you  the  making  Provi- 
sion for  a  Court  House,  I  was  in  hopes  the  Inconvenience  you  sutler  in  your 
present  Situation  would  have  prompted  you  to  have  given  Dispatch  to  this 
Affair,  but  perceiving  it  is  still  delayed,  I  must  desire  you  to  resume  the  Con- 
sideration, lest  the  General  Court  sliou'd  be  put  to  the  same  Difficulties  an 
other  Winter. 

p.  305. 


140  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 


April  13,  1748.  Jacob  Wendell  Esq'',  from  the  Committee  appointed  to 
take  Care  of  the  rebuilding  of  tlie  Court  House  gave  in  the  following  Keport, 
viz'. 

The  Committee  appointed  the  10""  of  March  last  to  procure  Materials  to 
effect  the  Repairs  of  the  Court  House,  &  to  prepare  a  Plan,  &  make  an  Estimate 
of  the  Cliarge  have  divers  times  met  &  consulted  Work  men  there  upon  &  beg 
Leave  to  Report,  —  That  in  Obedience  to  the  Order  of  the  Hon'''''.  General 
Court  they  have  taken  Measures  for  procuring  the  Lumber  needful  for  this 
Purpose,  &  have  actually  agreed  for  a  great  part  of  it. 

The  Committee  herewith  present  a  Plan  of  the  Inside  Work  wliieh  they 
apprehend  will  be  the  most  commodious,  &  best  answer  the  Design  of  tlie 
Building;  And  upon  tlie  best  Information  they  can  olitain  tliey  Judge  that 
the  said  Repairs  will  Amount  to  Eighteen  thousand,  one  hundred  &  four 
Pounds  old  Tenor,  as  by  the  Estimate  herewith. 

March  31,  1748 

All  -wliich  is  respectfully  submitted 

Jacob  Wendell 
p''  order 

In  the  House  of  Representatives.     Read  &  Ordered  tliat  the  Committee  be 
directed  to  proceed,  &  cause  the  Court  House  to  be  relniilt,  agreeable  to  the 
Plan  hiid  before  tlie  Court  with  this  Report. 
In  Council ;  Read  &  Concur'd 

Consented  to  by  the  Governo^ 

Court  Records,  p.  330. 

April  23  1748.     In  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Voted  that  the  Treasurer  be  directed  to  pay  into  the  hands  of  the  Com- 
mittee for  rebuilding  the  late  Court  House,  the  Sum  of  Five  Hundred  Pounds, 
such  sum  to  be  taken  of  the  Appropriation  where  there  is  no  Establishment; 
The  said  Comni'"'.  to  be  Acconiptable. 

In  Council ;  Read  &  Concur'd.     Consented  to  by  the  Governour. 

p.  345. 

April  20,  1749.  In  the  House  of  Representatives.  Ordered  that  the  Sum 
of  Twelve  Hundred  &  fifty  Pounds  be  paid  out  of  the  Publick  Treasury  to 
the  Committee  appointed  to  effect  tlie  Repairs  of  the  Court  House  in  Boston, 
the  said  Comniittee  to  be  accountable. 

In  Council;  Read  &  Concur'd 

Consented  to  by  the  Governour 

p.  477. 

April  25,  1751.     In  the  House  of  Representatives  : 

Whereas  the  Charge  of  building  the  Town  House  in  Boston  was  by  the 
General  Court  ordered  to  be  paid  one  half  by  the  Province,  one  Quarter  part 
thereof  by  the  Town  of  Boston,  and  the  other  Quarter  part  thereof  by  the 
County  of  Suffolk,  ,Vnd  it  has  been  Resolved  by  the  General  Court  that  the 
said  Town  &  County  shall  pay  the  same  Proportion  in  the  late  Repairs  thereof: 
The  whole  Charge  of  which  Repairs  amounts  to  thirty  seven  hundred  five 
Pounds  eleven  shillings  &  four  pence  Lawful  Money  :  Wherefore 

Ordered  that  The  Town  of  Boston  aforesaid  ]iay  into  the  Province  Treas- 
ury nine  hundred  twenty  six  Pounds  seven  shillings  &  ten  pence  beeing 
One  Quarter  part  of  tlie  Cliarge  of  Said  Repairs,  And  tliat  the  County  of 
Suffolk  pay  into  the  Province  Treasury  Nine  hundred  Twenty  six  Pounds 
seven  shillings  &  ten  pence  being  also  one  Quarter  part  of  the  Charge  of  said 
Repairs,  and  the  Province  Treasurer  is  hereby  Ordered  &  directed  to  propor- 
tion the  Sum  of  Nine  hundred  twenty  six  Pounds  seven  shillings  &  ten  pence 
to  &  among  the  Towns  in  the  County  of  Suffolk,  according  to  the  Proportion, 
which  each  Town  in  said  County  bears  one  to  another  in  the  present  valu.ation. 

And  the  Treasurer  is  further  ordered  to  give  his  Warrants  to  the  Assessors 


APPENDIX    D.  141 


of  the  Town  of  Boston,  for  tlio  year  1750,  requiring  tliem  to  assess  the  Siim 
of  Nine  hundretl  twenty  six  Pounds  eleven  shillings  &  Ten  pence  on  the  Polls 
&  Estates  in  tlie  said  Town  of  IJoston,  according  to  the  Direction  in  tlie  jn'esent 
Valuation,  and  also  to  give  out  his  Warrants  to  the  Assessors  of  the  several 
Towns  in  said  County  ol'Suflblk,  requiring  them  to  assess  on  Polls  &  Estates 
in  their  respective  Towns  their  proportionable  part  of  s''  Sum  of  Nine  liun- 
dred  twenty  six  Pounds  seven  shillings  &  ten  pence  by  the  same  Hide  afore- 
said. And  the  said  Treasurer  &  the  assessors  aforesaid  &  the  Collectors  & 
Constables,  to  whom  the  Assessment  for  the  Tax  aforesaid  shall  be  committed 
be  &  hereby  are  fully  impowered  &  directed  to  act  in  their  respective  Offices, 
for  the  Enforcing  the  Payment  of  said  Sums  into  the  Province  Treasury  on  or 
before  the  last  day  of  March  next  in  all  Respects  as  by  the  Law  of  this 
Province  said  Officers  are  impowered  to  do  for  enforcing  the  Payment  of 
Province  Taxes. 
In  Council  Read  &  Concur'd  Consented  to  by  the  Lieu'  Govern^ 

page  337. 


APPENDIX   D. 


THE  LION  AND  THE  UNICORN. 
(See  ante,  p.  G5.) 
la  delivering  tliis  .iddress,  reference  was  made  to  the  Liou  and 
Unicorn,  which  adorned  the  eastern  front  of  the  building,  as 
"  Eoyal  Arms,"  and  the  words  were  retained,  though  not  techni- 
cally correct.  Correctly  speaking,  there  are  no  arms  shown  on  the 
building ;  the  two  wooden  figures  being  only  the  supporters  of  a 
shield  whose  outline  only  is  indicated.  The  first  question  to  con- 
sider in  deciding  what  this  shield  would  nattirally  be,  is,  "Does 
the  use  of  the  Lion  and  Unicorn,  as  supporters,  necessarily  imply 
the  presence  of  the  arms  of  Great  Britain,  or  of  the  ruling  fam- 
ily?" The  answer  must  be  in  the  negative.  For  example,  good 
authorities  state  that  the  Dukes  of  Northumberland  long  used 
these  supporters.  The  fact  more  to  the  point  is,  tliat  they  were 
often  used  in  connection  with  the  arms  of  various  colonies.  In 
September,  1686,  King  James  II.  granted  to  the  New  England 
Colonies,  then  governed  by  Audros,  a  great  seal,  both  sides  of 
which  are  shown  in  the  annexed  eugraviugrs. 


142 


OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 


lu  the  following  year  Kiug  James  granted  a  .si.'al  to  New  York, 
one  side  bearing  the  Royal  Arms,  with  the  Garter  Crown  Support- 
ers and  Motto,  with  the  inscription,  "SigilKim  Provincise  Nostrte 
Novi  Eboraei,  etc.,  in  America."  (Historical  Mag.,  April,  1862.) 
It  is  belieyed  that  similar  grants  were  made  to  other  colonies,  es- 
pecially to  New  Hampshire. 

Under  the  Second  Charter  of  Massachusetts  a  change  was  neces- 
.sary,  as  that  provided  for  a  "  piiblique  seal  to  bo  appointed  by  the 
Crown."  The  following  engravings  show  the  two  different  forms 
which  this  seal  assumed  from  A.D.  1692  to  the  Revolution  :  — 


APPENDIX  D.  143 

It  has  not  seemed  worth  while  to  push  this  iuqiiiry  us  to  the 
exact  dates  of  the  first  and  last  use  of  each  form  ;  but  Mr.  Thomas 
C.  Amor}-,  in  a  careful  essay  printed  in  the  Proc,eedings  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society  for  December,  1867,  thinks  that 
the  second  form  came  into  use  about  September,  1728,  when  the 
Supplemental  Charter  of  George  I.  came  into  effect.  At  the  ac- 
cession of  George  III.  the  seal  was  changed  in  respect  to  his 
name,  but  not  otherwise.  Of  course  this  seal  ceased  to  be  used 
at  the  Revolution. 

If  will  be  seen,  however,  that  for  some  fifty  3-ears  the  seal  of 
Massachusetts  was  a  shield  of  the  Royal  Arms,  with  the  Lion  and 
Unicorn  for  supporters,  and  an  inscription  denoting  that  they 
were  used  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  Province.  In  the  interesting 
painter's  bill,  printed  (ante,  p.  64),  it  appears  that  within  the 
building  were  carved  representations  of  the  Colony  Arms  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  King's  Arms.  Although  no  specimen  is  now  known 
of  these  Colony  Arms,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  they  were  the 
same  as  those  on  the  Great  Seal. 

It  is,  therefore,  at  least  as  probable  that  these  supporters  would 
imply  the  Province  coat-of-arms,  as  the  Royal  Arms.  But  in 
reality  there  was  no  distinction  between  them,  and  it  would  seem 
to  be  an  unnecessary  stretch  of  fancy  to  insist  upon  seeing  in 
these  inoffensive  wooden  images  a  reminder  of  British  rule,  rather 
than  of  the  glorious  Provincial  Government,  that  precursor  aud 
creator  of  our  later  free  State. 

So  long  as  the  emblems  have  at  least  an  equal  claim  to  be 
viewed  as  Provincial  insignia,  and  especially  as  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  use  auj'  other  heraldic  ornaments  to  denote  that 
period,  there  seem  to  be  sound  grounds  for  us  to  retain  these 
figures. 

As  to  their  removal  by  our  forefathers,  it  is  necessary  to  say 
only  that,  at  that  date,  such  an  act  had  a  meaning.  It  was  the 
visible  token  of  the  revolt  against  royalty,  and  was,  therefore. 


144  OLD   STATE   HOUSE  EE-DEDICATION. 

right  aud  proper.  But  now  that  republicanism  is  established,  and 
the  continuance  of  royalty  even  in  Europe  is  so  problematical,  no 
one  can  fear  the  result 'of  showing  to  the  world  this  evidence  of 
our  former  condition.  The  loyalty  of  our  people  to  their  chosen 
form  of  government  does  not  depend  upon  any  falsification  of 
history.  The  Lion  and  the  Unicorn  were  the  property  of  our  an- 
cestors in  this  country,  and  we  have  the  right  to  use  them  in  any 
place  where  their  presence  is  instructive. 

The  date  of  the  removal  of  these  figures  has  not  been  definitely 
ascertained.  The  note  on  p.  93  makes  it  probable  that  they  did 
not  remain  later  than  July  18,  177G  ;  but  as  the  American  troops 
occupied  the  town  four  mouths  earlier,  the  change  may  have  taken 
place  before  this.  The  destruction  of  royalist  emblems  was  not 
so  extensive  as  the  newspaper  asserts,  since  the  King's  Arms  were 
removed  from  the  Council  Chamber  by  loyalists,  and  sent  to 
St.  John,  N.B.,  where  they  now  decorate  a  church;  and  the 
similar  carving  from  the  Province  House  is  now  in  the  possession 
of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and  is,  temporarily, 
placed  on  exhibition  in  the  Old  State  House. 


APPENDIX  E. 


FANEUIL  HALL. 

As  Faneuil  Hall  has  been  so  intimately  connected  with  the  his- 
tory of  Boston,  it  seems  proper  to  insert  a  short  account  of  the 
building,  aud  especially  to  point  out  the  changes  which  it  has  ex- 
perienced, as  the  comparison  with  the  Old  State  House,  on  the 
point  of   genuineness,   will  not  be  to  the  discredit  of  the  latter. 

As  is  well-known,  Peter  Faueuil,  in  1740,  offered  to  build  and 
present  to  the  town  a  market-house.     On  July  17th,  at  a   town 


APPENDIX   E.  145 

meeting,  a  ■Note  of  thanks  for  the  offer  was  unanimously  passed, 
but  the  aecoptauce  was  carried  only  by  a  majority  of  seven  votes 
in  a  total  of  727,  so  wedded  were  our  ancestors  to  their  old  ways 
of  marketing. 

Sept.  10,  1742,  Mr.  Samuel  Ruggles,  who  was  employed  in 
building  the  market-house,  delivered  over  the  key  to  the  select- 
men, and  on  the  13th  a  town  meeting  was  held.  On  motion  of 
John  Jeffries,  Esq.,  the  following  vote  was  passed  :  — 

"  Whereas,  information  was  given  to  this  town  at  their  meeting 
in  July,  1740,  that  Peter  Faneuil,  Esq.,  had  been  generously 
pleased  to  offer  at  his  own  proper  cost  aud  charge,  to  erect  and 
build  a  noble  und  complete  structure  or  edifice,  to  be  improved  for 
a  market,  for  the  sole  use,  benefit  and  advantage  of  the  Town, 
provided  the  town  of  Boston  would  pass  a  vote  for  that  purpose, 
and  lay  the  same  under  such  regulations  as  shall  be  thought  nec- 
essary, and  constantly  support  it  for  the  said  use. 

"  And,  whereas,  at  the  said  meeting  it  was  determined  to  accept 
of  the  offer  or  proposal  aforesaid  ;  and  also  voted  that  the  select- 
men should  be  desired  to  wait  upon  Peter  Faneuil,  Esq.,  and  to 
present  the  thanks  of  the  Town  to  him,  and  also  to  acquaint  him 
that  the  town  have  by  their  vote  come  to  a  resolution  to  accept 
of  his  generous  offer  of  erecting  a  market-house  on  Dock  square, 
according  to  his  proposal. 

"  And,  whereas,  Peter  Faneuil,  Esq.,  has  in  pursuance  thereof,  at 
a  very  great  expense,  erected  a  noble  structure  far  exceeding  his 
first  proposal,  inasmuch  as  it  contains  not  only  a  large  and  suffi- 
cient accommodation  for  a  Market  place,  but  has  also  superadded 
a  spacious  and  most  beautiful  Town  Hall  over  it,  and  several  other 
convenient  rooms  which  may  prove  very  beneficial  to  the  town  for 
offices,  or  otherwise ;  aud  the  said  building  being  now  finished, 
has  delivered  possession  thereof  to  the  Selectmen,  for  the  use  of 
the  town.     It  is,   tlierefore, 

"  Voted,  that  the  town  do  with  the  utmost  gratitude,  receive  and 


146  OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DET)ICATION. 

accept  this  most  generous  and  noble  benefaction,  for  the  uses  and 
intentions  they  are  designed  for;  and  do  appoint  the  Hon.  Thomas 
dishing,  Esq.,  the  Moderator  of  this  meeting,  the  Hon.  Adam 
Winthrop,  Edward  Hutchinson,  Ezekiel  Lewis,  Samuel  Waldo, 
Thomas  Hutchinson,  Esquires  ;  the  Selectmen  and  Representatives 
of  the  town  of  Boston,  with  the  Hon.  Jacob  Wendell,  James 
Bowdoin,  Andrew  Oliver,  Capt.  Nathaniel  Cunningham,  Peter 
Chardon,  and  Charles  Apthorp,  Esquires,  to  wait  on  Peter  Fan- 
euil,  Esq.,  in  the  name  of  the  Town,  to  render  him  their  most 
hearty  thanks  for  so  bountiful  a  gift ;  with  their  prayers  that 
this  and  other  expressions  of  his  Ijounty  and  charity  may  be 
abundantly  recompensed  with  the  divine  blessing." 

"  It  was  then  voted  unanimously  that,  in  testmiony  of  the  Town's 
gratitude  to  the  said  Peter  Faneuil,  Esq.,  and  to  perpetuate  his 
memory,  the  Hall  over  the  market  place  be  named  Faneuil  Hall, 
to  be  at  all  times  hereafter  called  and  known  by  that  name. 

"  As  a  further  testimony  of  respect  it  was  A'oted  that  Mr.  Fan- 
euU's  picture  be  drawn  at  full  length  at  the  expense  of  the  town, 
and  placed  in  the  Hall,  and  the  Selectmen  were  charged  with  the 
commission,  which  was  accordingly  executed."  (Snow's.  Hist,  of 
Boston,  p.  234.)  March  14,  1744,  the  town  voted  to  purchase  the 
Faneuil  arms,  elegantly  carved  and  gilt,  bj'  Moses  Deshon,  to  be 
fixed  in  the  Hall. 

On  Tuesday,  January  13,  1761,  during  a  spell  of  extremely 
cold  weather,  a  fire  broke  out  in  oue  of  the  shops  opposite  the 
north  side  of  Faneuil  Hall,  and  consumed  the  row  of  wooden 
buildings  there.  The  fire  "communicated  itself  to  that  stately 
edifice,  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  the  whole  of  which  was  entirely  con- 
sumed, except  the  brick  walls,  which  are  left  standing."  The 
"records  and  papers,  with  such  other  things  as  could  be  con- 
veniently removed,  were  mostly  saved."  The  first  meeting  at 
Faneuil  Hall  after  it  was  repaired  was  on  March  14,  1763, 
when  James  Otis,  Jr.,  delivered  an  address.     Some  slight  alter- 


# 


WAM 


APPENDIX  F.  147 

atious   were    made  iu  some  parts  of  the  work,   but  the  size  of 
the  building  remained  the  same.     (Snow's  Hist.,  p.  247.) 

The  two  views  here  given,  one  from  the  Massachusetts  Maga- 
zine for  March,  1789,  and  the  otlier,  from  Snow's  History  iu  182G, 
show  the  Revolutionary  building  and  the  present  one.  The  white 
lines  in  Snow's  view  indicate  the  proportion  of  old  material  in  the 
existing  Hall.  In  1805  the  enlargement  was  made,  doubling  the 
width  of  the  building  and  adding  a  third  story.  The  first  Hall 
was  calculated  to  hold  one  thousand  persons,  but,  as  we  have 
noted  before,  whenever  a  large  town  meeting  was  held  it  adjourned 
to  the  Old  South  Church  for  additional  room. 


APPENDIX  F. 


THE  COURT  HOUSE,  OR  OLD  CITY  HALL. 

But  little  has  been  printed  in  regard  to  the  building  on  School 
street,  occupied  as  the  First  City  Hall  from  1822  to  1830,  and 
again  from  1840  to  18G2.  The  handsome  volume,  descriptive  of 
our  New  City  Hall,  printed  in  186G,  begins  its  record  only  with  the 
measures  which,  in  1838,  led  to  the  second  occupancy  of  the  old 
building  upon  the  removal,  in  1840,  from  the  Old  State  House. 
In  fact,  on  p.  44  of  that  document,  it  is  said  that  Faneuil  Hall 
was  the  first  City  Hall,  and  was  so  used  from  1822  to  1830.  This 
is  clearly  incorrect,  as  the  following  statements  will  show  ;  for  we 
must  regard  that  building  as  the  City  Hall,  in  which  the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen  and  the  Common  Council  held  their  meetings, 
and  where  the  greater  part  of  the  departments  had  their  offices. 

The  earliest  view  of  this  Court  House  is  found  in  the  ' '  Polyan- 
thos  "  for  September,  1813,  which  is  here  copied. 


148  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

In  Snow's  History  of  Boston,  printed  in  1826,  he  describes  the 
stoue  Court  House,  in  Court  square,  as  built  in  1810.  "The 
lower  story  of  the  centre  is  improved  by  the  Registrar  of  Deeds 
and  Clerk  of  the  C.  C.  P.  ;  the  second  story  by  the  County 
Courts  ;  and  the  upper  by  the  Common  Council  of  the  city.  The 
Mayor  and  Aldermen's  room  is  in  tliu  upper  story  of  the  western 
wing ;  under  that  are  the  offices  of  the  Auditor  and  City  Marsh- 
al ;  and  on  the  lower  floor  the  Probate  Office.  In  the  eastern 
wing  are  the  offices  of  the  clerk  of  the  S.  J.  Court-rooms,  for  the 
judges,  and  for  the  juries,  and  one  occupied  by  the  Law  Li- 
brary." 

In  Bowen's  Picture  of  Boston,  printed  in  1829,  is  a  description 
of  the  offices.  "The  Mayor  and  Aldermen's  room  is  a  plain  but 
convenient  apartment  in  the  third  story  of  the  west  wing  of  the 
Stone  Court  House,  Court  Square  in  School  street.  A  railing 
runs  across  the  middle,  dividing  it  into  two  divisions,  the  south, 
side  being  for  the  accommodation  of  visitors,  who  are  provided 
with  settees  ;  the  north  side  has  an  elevated  floor,  which  is  car- 
peted. The  chairs  and  tables  are  so  arranged  as  to  make  half  a 
circle,  the  Mayor's  chair  in  the  centre  and  raised  above  the  others." 
"  The  Common  Council  hold  their  sessions  in  the  same  building 
with  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  The  Council  room  is  in  the  third 
story,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  building.  The  President's  seat  is 
elevated  at  one  side  of  the  room,  and  the  seats  of  the  members 
are  very  conveniently  arranged,  having  a  gradual  ascent  from 
front  to  rear." 

The  City  Clerk's  office  was  in  the  Aldermen's  room  ;  the  Clerk 
of  the  Common  Council  had  an  office  in  the  brick  building  oppo- 
site the  south-west  door  of  the  Court  House  ;  the  Assessors  were 
at  Faneuil  Hall,  the  Treasurer  in  the  room  at  the  westerly  end  of 
the  Old  State  House  ;  the  Auditor  at  the  west  end  of  the  Court 
House ;  the  City  Marshall,  the  Health  Commissioners,  and  the 
Superintendent  of  Burying  Grounds,  were  in  the  west  end  of  the 


APPENDIX  F.  149 

Court  House,  north  side.  All  these  were  so  located  by  an  ordi- 
nance dated  Dec.  20,  1824. 

Mayor  Quincy,  in  his  inaugural  address,  in  January,  1827, 
dwelt  upon  the  iniportanee  of  iMinging  all  these  departments  of 
the  City  Government  under  one  roof.  His  plan  was  to  erect  a 
building  on  the  west  end  of  Faneuil  Hall,  giving  up  the  Council 
Chamber  to  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  building  a  new 
chamber  in  the  Stone  Court  House,  for  the  United  States  Court. 
He  also  proposed  to  sell  the  land  in  Court  square  formerly  cov- 
ered by  the  Jail. 

As  we  know,  this  plan  did  not  prove  acceptable  ;  and,  in  1830, 
the  city  converted  the  Old  State  House  into  a  City  Hall. 

As  there  have  been  so  many  changes  in  and  about  Court  square, 
it  is  worth  while  to  explain  them.  From  a  very  early  date  the 
Jail  was  placed  in  the  centre  of  Court  square.  Pemberton,  in 
1 794,  writes  :  "  The  new  Stone  Jail  is  a  large,  commodious  building, 
and  stands  on  the  ground  wliere  formerly  was  a  wooden  building 
called  the  Debtor's  Jail,  a  little  l)aek  from  Court  (formerly  Queen) 
street.  The  inside  was  set  on  fire  by  some  prisoners  confined  in 
it,  the  30th  June,  1769.  It  has  since  been  repaired,  is  three 
stories  in  height,  and  is  divided  into  three  parts  with  biick  par- 
titions, cased  with  plank  and  iron.  The  upper  story  is  appro- 
priated to  debtors.  The  entrance  to  the  Jail  is  by  three  strong 
doors  in  front. 

"  The  new  Court  House  is  built  on  the  front  of  the  said  street, 
partlj-  on  the  ground  where  the  old  stone  jail  stood,  which  made 
an  uncouth  appearance  and  was  taken  down.  It  is  a  large,  hand- 
some building  of  brick,  three  stories  high,  and  has  on  the  roof  an 
octagon  cupola.  The  lower  floor  is  used  partly  for  walking,  and 
has  on  it  the  probate  office  and  the  ofllce  of  the  county  registrar 
of  deeds.  In  the  second  st«ry,  the  floor  of  which  is  supported  by 
pillars  of  the  Tuscan  order,  are  held  the  courts  of  law.     In  the 


150  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-UEDICATION. 

second  and  third  stories  are  couveuient  rooms  for  the  grand  and 
petit  jurors,  and  for  offices." 

The  annexed  plans  show  the  location  of  the  buildings  in  1800 
and  1814,  and  a  view  of  the  east  end  of  this  Court  House  is 
found  in  Salmon's  picture,  in  1829,  from  the  top  of  Pembertou 
Hill.     (See  ante,  p.  104.) 

Shaw,  in  1817,  repeats  these  descriptions  substantially,  adding 
that  the  building  was  of  brick,  that  the  cupola  contained  a  bell, 
and  that  on  the  lower  floor  were  the  offices  of  the  U.  S.  District 
Marshal,  Sheriff  of  the  County,  Clerk  of  the  Municipal  Court, 
the  Provident  Institution  or  Savings-Bank,  and  several  private 
offices.  In  the  second  stor^-  were  held  the  Circuit  and  District 
Courts  of  the  U.  S.,  and  there  was  the  office  of  the  Dis- 
trict Clerk.  "This  buihling,  before  the  erection  of  the  new 
Court  House,  was  used  by  all  the  Courts  of  Law  held  in  the 
County." 

He  adds  that  the  jail  is  90  feet  long  and  23  feet  broad,  and  is 
four  stories  high. 

The  Old  county  Court  House  had  then  been  given  up  to 
other  uses,  and  the  explanation  is,  that  by  Chap.  73  of  Acts  of 
1809  (dated  March  1,  1810),  the  Justices  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  for  Suffolk  were  empowered  to  purchase  any  lands 
between  Court  street  and  School  street,  in  Boston,  for  erecting  a 
Court  House  for  said  county,  and  making  proper  avenues  to  and 
around  the  same,  to  sell  or  exchange  any  land  there  belonging  to 
the  county  and  to  borrow  money  and  build  a  Court  House. 

Undoubtedly  the  work  was  promptly  performed.  Shaw  thus 
describes  it :  "  The  New  Court  House  is  140  feet  long,  consists  of 
an  octagon  centre  55  feet  wide,  two  stories,  two  wings  of  three 
stories,  26  by  40  feet,  connected  by  the  entrance  and  passages  to 
the  centre  ;  contains  two  court-rooms  in  the  centre,  one  smaller  in 
one  wing,  Probate  Office,  Register  of  Deeds,  Clerks  of  Supreme 
and  Common  Pleas  Court,   rooms  for  Judges  and  Law  Library, 


APPENDIX  F.  151 

rooms  for  Grand  and  Petit  Juries.  The  cost  of  this  building  was 
$98,817.10." 

Snow,  in  his  admirable  history  of  Boston,  in  1824  gives  the 
annexed  view  of  the  Stone  Court  House,  which  he  tried  to  per- 
suade the  public  to  call  "Johnson  Hall."  He  writes  :  "The  lower 
story  of  the  centre  is  improved  by  the  Register  of  Deeds  and 
Clerk  of  the  C.  C.  P.  ;  the  second  story  by  the  Couuty  Courts,  and 
the  upper  bj'  the  Common  Council  of  the  city.  The  mayor  and 
aldermen's  room  is  in  the  upper  stoi-y  of  the  west  wiug ;  under 
that  are  the  offices  of  the  Auditor  and  City  Marshal,  and  on  the 
lower  floor  the  Probate  Office.  In  the  eastern  wing  are  the  offices 
of  the  Clerk  of  the  S.  J.  court  rooms,  for  the  judges  and  for  the 
juries,  and  one  occupied  by  the  Law  Library." 

As  already  noted,  the  Old  State  House  was  occupied  as  a  City 
Hall,  September  17,  1830,  and  so  remained  for  ten  years. 

In  18.39  the  City  Council  appropriated  $60,000  for  the  purchase 
of  land  in  Court  square  and  ou  School  street,  and  $500  as  a 
premium  for  a  plan  for  a  new  City  Hall.  City  Doc.  No.  9,  of 
1840,  reports  that  they  had  plans  from  Asher  Benjamin,  Eichard 
Bond,  and  G.  J.  F.  Bryant,  costing  from  $28,000  to  $24,000  for 
alterations  of  the  County  Court  House  for  this  purpose  ;  one 
from  Coruelius  Coolidge  for  $25,000  ;  one  for  $12,000  from  a  per- 
son unnamed,  and  one  from  Charles  Roath,  for  inside  work,  at 
$3,400.  These  plans,  or  some  of  about  that  date,  are  still  pre- 
served in  the  Cit3-  Architect's  office.  We  annex  a  view  copied 
from  the  "Sketches  of  Boston,"  printed  in  1851.  An  addition 
has  since  been  built  on  the  west  end. 

'  To  tr.ice  the  history  of  the  Court  House  on  Court  street,  it  should  be 
stated  that,  according  to  Snow,  "  tlie  County  Gaol,  in  Leverett  street,  and  tlie 
House  of  Correction  connected  with  it,  and  the  Municipal  Court-llouse,  all 
of  which  are  handsome,  stone  buildings,  were  commenced  several  years 
since,  but  were  not  finished  and  occupied  till  the  year  1822.  In  1823  the 
old  gaol  was  taken  down,  and  its  materials  were  partly  used  in  constructing 
the  Gun-Hi)use  and  Ward-Hoom  on  Thatcher  street." 


152  OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

None  of  these  plans  were  adopted,  but  after  a  long  dispute 
between  the  branches,  it  was  decided,  Jul}'  27,  1840,  to  fit  up  the 
old  Court  House.  "  According  to  a  third  plan,  keeping  the  en- 
trances as  they  now  are,  the  present  stairs  might  be  taken  away, 
and  new  stairs  carried  up  in  the  rear  of  the  main  part  of  the 
building,  conforming  precisely  in  the  second  and  third  stories,  in 
all  the  arrangements  to  the  plan  heretofore  submitted  to  the  Coun- 
cil by  Mr.  Preston,"  and  costing  $9,475.  To  this  sum  was  to  be 
added  83,000  for  an  iron  fence,  and  grading  the  land  in  front ; 
$1,000  for  gas  fixtures,  and  $1,000  for  heating  apparatus. 

On  March  18,  1841,  a  convention  of  both  branches  was  held 
to  dedicate  the  new  City  Hall,  and  the  Mayor,  Jonathan  Chap- 
man, delivered  an  address.  However  convenient  the  Hall  may 
have  proved,  there  seems  to  have  been  very  little  pride  evinced  in 
its  external  appearance.  At  least,  while  nearly  everj'  other  large 
building  in  the  city  has  been  made  familiar  to  us  by  numerous  en- 
gravings, probably  the  oulj'  artistic  picture  of  this  Hall  during  its 
second  civic  occupaucy,  is  the  one  engraved  by  a  German,  F. 
Coth,  in  1856,  and  published  in  Munich.  This  is  only  one  of  a 
series  of  views  illustrative  of  Boston,  on  one  large  plate.  A  re- 
production is  annexed.  A  small  wood-cut  of  the  City  Hall,  is, 
however,  given  on  p.  29  of  a  guide-book  published  in  1865, 
entitled,  "Boston  Sights,"  edited  by  R.  L.  Midgiey.  A  view  also 
appears  on  the  title-page  of  the  Boston  Directory  from  1853  to  1859. 

It  is  well-remembered  that  the  increase  in  the  city's  affairs  soon 
rendered  this  City  Hall  too  contracted  for  usefulness,  and  that 
measures  were  taken  for  constructing  a  new  buildiug.  A  com- 
mittee, in  1862,  submitted  a  plan  at  an  estimated  cost  of  $160,000, 
and  the  corner-stoue  was  laid  Dec.  22,  1862.  The  size  of  the 
new  building  allowed  the  foundation  and  front  wall  to  lie  erected, 
and  prepared  for  the  corner-stone,  while  the  City  Government 
occupied  the  old  City  Hall.  The  last  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Al- 
dermen  therein  was  on  January   7,    1863  ;    and  on   January  12, 


APPENDIX  G.  153 

the  Board  met  at  the  Mechauics'  Hall,  on  the  corner  of  Bedford 
and  Chauncy  streets,  where  rooms  had  been  hired  for  the  City 
Council,  and  some  departments.  Here  then  was  the  actual  City 
Hall  for  more  than  eighteen  months,  the  last  session  of  the 
Board  there  being  on  Saturday,  September  10,  1865.  On  the 
Monday  following,  a  convention  of  both  branches  was  held  at  the 
New  City  Hall  to  dedicate  it,  and  that  building  has  since  remained 
in  use,  although  no  longer  capable  of  housing  all  the  departments 
of  the  government  under  its  roof. 

The  estimated  cost  was  $160,000,  though  no  one  expected  that 
the  expense  would  be  covered  by  that  sum.  Some  changes  were 
made  in  the  plan,  but  the  great  apparent  increase  in  the  price 
paid  was  caused  by  the  premium  on  gold.  Accordingly,  the  com- 
mittee in  charge  felt  authorized  to  claim  that  the  total  expense  of 
$505,191.42  as  paid,  was  not  owing  to  any  extravagance  or  in- 
crease of  plans.  The  exterior  of  the  building  has  proved  entirely 
satisfactory,  and  engraved  views  are  numerous. 

The  prediction  may  be  hazarded  that  some  further  change  in 
City  Hall,  by  the  addition  of  the  Court-House  building  or  other- 
wise, will  be  made  in  the  near  future. 


APPENDIX    G. 


City  Hall,  Boston,  Oct.  1,  1882. 
Alderman  William  Woollet,  Chairman   of  the    Committee   in 
charge  of  the  Restoration  of  the  Old  State  House :  — 
Dear   Sir,  —  In   the   reconstruction    and   restoration   of    any 
structure    it    will   be   understood    that    the   result   must   largely 
depend  upon  the  knowledge  at  hand  of  its  original  character. 
In  the  case  of  the  Old  State  House,  to  ascertain  this  was  not 


154  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

altogether  an  easy  task,  but  with  the  aid  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Whit- 
more,  an  active  member  of  your  committee,  and  who  was  en- 
tirelj'  familiar  with  its  early  historj',  much  of  the  difficulty  was 
overcome  in  the  start.  The  following  is  an  authentic  statement 
of  the  evidences  which  were  found  of  the  original  condition  of  the 
old  building,  and  which  have  detennined  the  work  of  restoration. 

In  order  to  ascertain  if  there  were  any  hidden  traces  left  of 
the  original  interior,  a  careful  carpenter  was  first  employed  to 
make  a  thorough  examination ;  this  work  was  carried  on  for 
more  than  four  weeks,  under  the  immediate  observation  of  Mr. 
Whitmore  and  myself  ;  several  important  indications  were  thus 
brought  to  light ;  in  fact,  the  exact  location  of  all  the  original 
partitions  of  the  second  story  was  determined :  upon  removing 
the  plastering,  the  outline  of  the  original  partition  caps  was 
found,  which  had  been  cut  in  between  the  old  furriugs.  Also, 
corresponding  indications  were  found  upon  the  old  uuder-floors, 
wliieh,  by  the  way,  had  been  covered  at  different  periods  by  two, 
and  in  some  places  by  three,  upper  or  finish-floors.  These  in- 
dications upon  the  original  under-floors  also  gave  me  the  posi- 
tion of  all  the  doors,  their  thresholds  being  clearly  defined  by 
openings  directly  through  the  under  floor,  as  in  the  case  of 
thresholds  in  old  buildings  of  that  date. 

But  the  most  important  development  of  all  was  the  opening 
up  of  the  original  framing  in  the  second  floor  around  the 
circular  staircase,  as  represented  in  the  accompanying  diagram. 
There  was  one  mysterious  circumstance  in  connection  with 
this  framing,  —  the  centre  of  the  circular  gallery  of  the 
staircase  was  found  to  be  one  foot  from  the  centre  of  the 
circular  hall  surrounding  it,  when  they  would  both  be  natu- 
rally drawn  from  one  centre.  This  was  explained,  however,  in 
good  time,  by  the  fortunate  discovery  of  the  original  plans  of 
the  building,  they  having  been  found  by  Mr.  Whitmore  at  Cin- 
cinnati ;  the  reason  of   the  diflerence  in  the  two  centres  was   at 


APPENDIX   G.  l,jO 

once  apparent,  it  having  been  purposely  arranged  to  equalize  a 
certain  amoimt  of  room  gained  through  a  peculiar  manner  of 
terminating  the  staircase  on  the  second-floor  landing. 

The  plan  of  the  interior  having  been  determined,  and  the 
nature  of  the  accommodations,  next  came  the  treatment  of  finish, 
and  the  character  of  the  architecture.  Sketches  and  a  careful 
study  were  at  ouce  made  of  all  the  buildings  erected  in  this 
vicinity,  of  about  the  date  of  the  Old  State  House  ;  among  them, 
several  dwellings  at  the  North  End,  Christ  Church,  Hancock 
House,  King's  Chapel,  Royall  House  at  Medford,  the  Gov. 
.Shirley  House  at  Roxbury,  several  public  and  private  buildings 
at  Salem,  Newbury  port,  and  Portsmouth  were  carefully  exam- 
ined. With  these  studies  and  the  several  wood-cuts  and  litho- 
graphic plates  of  the  old  liiiihling  itself,  dating  from  the  days  of 
Paul  Revere  down  (he  having  made  the  first  engraving),  together 
with  existing  pieces  of  wood  mouldings  found  about  the  interior, 
such  as  pieces  of  cornices,  bases  of  the  pilasters,  pieces  of  old 
wood  mantles,  and  wood  wainscotting  connecting  with  the  same, 
besides  the  position  of  all  the  old  wood  grounds  upon  the  brick 
walls,  giving  the  heights  of  the  cornices,  wainscoting,  etc.,  a 
very  definite  idea  was  forined  of  the  treatment  of  the  interior 
wood  finish  ;  also  much  of  the  new  work  that  was  required  about 
the  exterior,  including  the  balcony  at  the  State-street  end  and 
the  restoration  of  the  Washington-street  door. 

In  restoring  the  windows  of  the  building  the  number  of  panes 
of  glass  in  each  window  was  determined  by  an  oil  painting,  made 
about  A.D.  1805,  which  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society.'  The  muntins  of  the  sashes  are  different 
from  those  found  in  any  other  building  of  that  period,  and  are 
a  reproduction  from  the  window  of  the  second  story,  opening 
upon  the  balcon3'  at  the  State-street  end.     Although  the  use  of 

The  engraving  of  this  picture  will  be  found  ante,  p.  101.—  W.  H.  W. 


156  OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 

this  peculiar  thin  muutin  excited  a  great  deal  of  eiiticism  in 
the  public  press,  it  was  not  decided  upon  finally,  until  after 
a  careful  examination  of  this  window  had  been  made  by  many 
leading  architects  and  builders,  especially  those  who  had  given 
attention  to  this  colonial  style,  and  it  had  been  definitely  deter- 
mined that  this  was  the  original  window.  In  fact,  but  little 
doubt  of  its  original  character  could  exist,  since  the  frame  of 
this  window,  like  all  the  other  windows  about  the  building, 
was  built  solid  into  the  walls  and  extending  back  of  the  same, 
on  the  two  sides  and  across  the  top,  at  least  four  inches  ;  the 
window  and  side  lights  were  glazed  with  crown  glass,  which 
has  not  been  in  use  for  the  last  eiglitj-  years ;  the  hinges  were 
of  wrought  iron,  secured  with  wrought  nails,  and  the  fastening 
was  by  an  old  brass  latch  with  egg-shaped  handles  each  side. 

The  work  of  restoring  the  exterior  was  not  of  a  difficult 
nature,  the  brick  moulded  belt  courses  were  easily  continued 
where  the}'  had  been  removed,  and  the  walls  of  the  first  story 
of  the  Washington  and  State  street  ends,  which  had  been  taken 
away  for  modern  improvement,  to  fit  the  building  for  business 
purposes,  were  easily  replaced  with  window  openings  like  those 
above. 

The  main  cornice  was  found  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
as  also  were  the  ten  trusses  supporting  the  roof,  which,  of 
course,  determined  the  original  outline  ;  these  trusses  were  framed 
with  a  king  post,  and  were  constructed  of  oak-hewn  timber,  the 
principal  rafters  being  in  double  sections,  the  under  section  of 
a  natural  curve ;  the  tie-beams  of  the  trusses  were  about  four- 
teen inches  square  and  formed  the  sleepers  or  girders  for  the 
support  of  the  third  floor. 

All  of  the  roof  above  the  cornice  to  the  height  of  eight  feet, 
between  the  trusses,  had  been  removed  :  but  above  that  height, 
forming  the  apex,  the  original  boarding  and  jack-rafters  were 
found  in  oood  condition. 


APPENDIX  H.  157 

New  dormer  wiudows  were  placed  -between  the  ti'usses,  the 
number,  position,  and  proportions  being  ascertained  from  the 
several  wood-cuts ;  also  the  five  chimnej's  on  each  side,  which 
were  found  to  be  of  modern  construction,  were  removed. 

The  tower  was  discovered  in  a  neglected  and  vor_y  unsafe  con- 
dition ;  several  of  the  bed-plates  which  formerly  received  the 
posts  having  been  removed  in  the  course  of  adapting  the  third 
story  to  business  purposes,  while  others  had  been  completely 
burned  off ;  and  in  those  alterations  the  only  support  left  for 
the  tower  was  upon  the  head  of  two  plank  partitions.  From 
the  decayed  condition  of  the  wood  finish  of  the  exterior  of  the 
tower  it  was  found  necessary  to  remove  all  of  the  sash,  two 
thirds  of  the  pilasters,  pedestals,  balustrades,  and  carved  fiuials, 
and  replace  tlie  same  )iv  new  work  ;  the  copper  work  of  the 
roof  and  tlie  old  vane  and  lightning-rod  were  found  in  a  very 
passable  condition. 

The  work  of  reconstruction  occupied  about  six  mouths'  time, 
having  been  commenced  about  October  15,  1881,  and  completed 
in  July,  1882. 

Very  respectfully  submitted, 

GEORGE  A.  CLOUGH, 

City  Architect. 


APPENDIX   H. 


The  following  report,  on  the  restoration  and  renovation  of  the 
Old  State  House  (City  Document  No.  100  of  1882),  was  submitted 
to  the  Common  Council,  June  29,  1882  :  — • 

"The  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  was  instructed  by  the 
City  Council  of  1881  to  give  effect  to  the  following  order  which 
was  approved  b}'  the  Mayor,  Sept.   17,   1881  :  — 


158  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

"  Ordered,  That  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  be  directed  to  lease  the 
Old  State  House  for  such  term,  to  such  pai-ties,  and  upon  such  terms  as  they 
raay  deem  for  the  best  interests  of  the  City  of  Boston ;  and  said  committee 
are  hereby  autliorized  to  expend  a  sum  not  exccedinf;  thirty-five  thousand 
dollars  in  repairs  on  buildinit;  said  sum  to  be  charged  to  tlie  appropriation 
therefor." 

"Under  these  iustruetions  the  committee  of  18S1  appointed 
Messrs.  Whitraore,  Woolley,  O'Brien,  and  Morrison,  in  1881,  as 
a  sub-committee ;  and,  in  1882,  Messrs.  Woolley,  Hart  (Frost  in 
his  place  from  February  24th),  Morrison  (Whitmore  in  his  place 
from  March  29th),  and  Eddy,  in  the  same  capacity. 

"Your  committee  begs  leave  to  report  in  part,  at  this  time,  that 
the  work  has  been  substantially  finished,  and  to  submit  a  detailed 
account  of  its  expenditures.  The  estimate  of  835,000  was  as 
accurate  a  calculation  as  could  be  made  in  advance  ;  and  though, 
as  will  be  shown,  much  more  has  been  done  than  was  anticipated, 
the  work  will  be  finished  so  that  the  building  can  be  delivered  to 
its  occupants  within  the  amount  named. 

"  It  was  found  that  the  work  involved  not  only  the  removal  of 
the  partitions  on  each  floor,  but  an  elaborate  reconstruction  of  the 
lower  floor  and  basement,  to  fit  them  for  such  tenants  as  the  city 
would  desire  to  have  in  such  a  building.  It  was  found  neces- 
sary to  heat  the  building  by  steam,  in  order  to  do  away  with  the 
chimneys  which  had  been  put  on  during  the  present  century.  It 
was,  of  course,  in  the  view  which  the  committee  took,  necessary 
to  take  off  the  modern  French  roof  and  to  restore  the  old  pitch 
roof;  to  take  out  the  glass  front  on  the  west  end,  and  the  flight  of 
stairs  on  the  east  end,  and  to  replace  them  with  substantial  brick 
walls  and  proper  doors  and  windows.  The  plans  of  the  old  build- 
ing and  the  indications  in  the  wood-work  pointed  to  a  circulai 
stairway  between  the  first  and  second  floors.  In  utilizing  the 
basement  for  business  purposes,  it  was  necessary  to  extend  this 
stairway  through  that  story  also.     The  repairs  to  the  tower  were 


APPENDIX  H.  159 

costly,  but  indispensable.  The  second  story,  containing  the 
Memorial  Halls,  has  cost  considerable  money,  but  there  every 
part  of  the  finish  had  to  be  constructed  afresh. 

"  Your  committee  annex  hereto  the  report  of  the  City  Architect, 
showing,  first,  the  total  cost  of  each  kind  of  -nork  ;  secondly,  the 
cost  of  each  part  of  the  building.  It  seems  that  of  the  $35,000 
the  amount  of  $11,300  was  expended  for  the  antiquarian  part,  or 
the  Memorial  Halls ;  the  remainder  has  been  economically  ex- 
pended in  arranging  the  building  for  business  purposes,  under  the 
instructions  to  preserve  and  res-tore  the  original  exterior. 

"  In  conclusion,  j-our  committee  has  to  report  that  the  work  has 
revealed  the  fact  that  extensive  repairs,  perhaps  costing  $25,000, 
would  have  been  needed  within  a  very  few  years,  as  the  walls 
were  crumbling,  the  timbers  of  the  roof  and  tower  badly  decayed, 
and  even  for  renting  purposes  the  building  could  not  be  compared 
with  the  modern  offices  in  the  vicinity.  It  had  been  hoped  that 
the  appropriation  would  allow  the  committee  to  fit  up  the  attic, 
and  to  provide  chandeliers,  etc.,  for  the  halls.  But  as  the  work 
can  be  finished  to  this  point  within  the  original  appropriation,  and 
as  these  finishing  touches  can  be  left  to  our  successors,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  mention  the  facts. 

"  If  our  committee  would  especially  call  attention  to  the  zeal  and 
success  with  which  the  City  Architect  has  conducted  the  work. 
The  details  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  old  work  have  given  him 
much  extra  labor,  but  it  is  believed  that  everything  which  has 
been  done  has  the  best  architectural  authority  for  it.  A  full 
explanation  of  the  changes  is  reserved  for  another  opportunity. 
The  various  mechanics  have  heartily  cooperated,  and  the  result 
will,  it  is  hoped,  prove  that  the  appropriation  has  been  properly 
expended. 

"Your  committee  anticipate  that  it  can  deliver  up  the  building 
to  the  City  Government  early  in  -July,  and,  unless  otherwise  in- 


160  OLD    STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

stnicted,  it  is  their  intention  to  invite  the  City  Council  to  attend 
at  a  formal  celebration  of  the  event. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

AVILLIAM  WOOLLEY, 
CHARLES  H.  HERSEY, 
WILLIAM  FROST, 
P.  JAMES  MAGUIRE, 
JOHN  P.  HILTON, 
OTIS  EDDY, 
JOSEPH  P.  CONNELL, 
WILLIAM  H.  WHITMORE, 

Committee  on  Puhlic  Buildings." 


Accepted,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

W.  P.  GREGG, 

Citric. 


Office  of  City'  Architect, 

CiTT  Hall,  June  27,  1882. 

William    Woolley,    Ehq.,    Chairman    Committee    in    charge  of 
renovating  the   Old  State  House:  — 

Dear  Sir,  —  In  compliance  with  the  request  of  your  committee, 
I  herewith  present  a  statement  of  the  total  cost  of  reconstructing 
and  refitting  the  ancient  structure,  showing  first  the  cost  of  each 
kind  of  work,  together  with  the  name  of  the  mechanic  that  did  it ; 
secondly,  the  separate  cost  of  restoring  each  part  of  the  build- 
ing:  — 


APPENDIX   H.  IGl 

Carpenters. 
Holbrook  &  Harlow  .  .         .         .         $9,413  69 

Sidney  Peterson         ....  7,451  31 

$16,865  00 


James  Fagan     . 
C.  W.  Baxter    . 

5,666  92 


Masons. 

$5,301   67 

• 

365  25 

Painters. 

$1,920  70 

• 

265  60 

John  D.  Driscoll 
Walburg  &  Sherry    . 

2,186  30 

Roofing  and  Gutters. 
T.  F.  Harrigau 1,128  13 

Superintendent  and  Watchman. 
F.  A.  Hatch  and  M.  Farnham  ....  1,38004 

Steam-heating  and  Ventilation. 
Ingalls  &  Kendricken 1,648  66 

Iron  and  Marble  Work. 
L.  M.  Ham  and  Bowker,  Torrey,  &  Co.   .  .  .         1,061   74 

Granite- Work  . 
E.  R.  Clark 1,099  32 

Plumbing. 
Brintnall  &  Tombs 988  58 

Plastering. 
J.  H.  Davis 923  19 


AmomU  carried  forward,  $32,947  88 


162 


OLD    STATE   HOUSE    KE-DEDICATION. 


Amount  brought  foncard. 

Carving. 
"W.  H.  Rumney        .... 


$32,947  88 


8.50  00 


Gas-fitting. 

Charles  Pierce  ....... 

Fuel,  advertisiug,  rat-catchiug,  aud  other  miscella- 
neous items,  amount    ...... 


2.3.5  29 


825  83 


$34,8o9  00 


Separate  Cost  op  Restoring  Each  Part. 
Reconstruction  of  roof    . 
Alteration,  Washington-street  end   . 
Alteration,  State-street  end 
Construction  of  suh-cellar 
Fitting  up  of  R.R.  offices 
Fitting  up  Antiquarian  rooms 
Circular  staircase,  hall  and  stairs     .  $2,400   40 

Staircase  basement  stairs         .         .         .1 ,400  00 


84,331  44 
1,658  39 
3,195  00 
1,470  00 
1,877  85 
8,864  34 


-3,860  40 

Fitting  up  ofHces,  1st  floor,  State-street  end      .  .  1,649   19 

"      basement 3,148  43 

The  items  of  superintendence,  watching,  advertising, 
fuel,  and  work  upon  the  walls  of  outside,  have  not 
been  included  in  the  above  amounts,  in  all  amount- 
ing to  4,803  96 

$34,855  09 
Very  respectfully  submitted, 

GEORGE  A.  CLOUGH, 

City  Architect. 


APPENDIX     I.  163 


appe:n^dix  I. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  "THE  LAST  WILL  AND  TESTAMENT  OF 
ME,  ROBERT  KEAYNB,  ALL  OF  IT  WHINTEN  WITH  MY 
OWNE  HANDS  &  BEGAN  BY  ME  MO:  «:  1:  1653,  COMONLY 
CALLED   AUGUST." 

I  Robert  Keayne,  Cittizen  and  M''chant  Taylor  of  London  by  frecdome, 
and  b_v  the  good  Providence  of  God  now  dwelling  at  Boston  in  New  England 
in  Amireca  being  at  this  time  through  the  great  goodnes  of  my  God,  both  in 
health  of  body,  &  of  able  and  sufHcient  memory,  yet  considering  that  all 
flesh  is  as  grasse,  that  must  wither  and  will  returne  to  the  dust,'  and  that  my 
life  may  be  taken  away  in  a  moment,  therefore  that  I  may  be  in  the  better 
readinesse  (and  freed  from  the  distracting  cares  of  the  disposing  of  my  out- 
ward estate,  w"^''  coinonly  followes  the  deferring  of  it,  wliile  the  time  of  sick- 
nes  or  day  of  Death,  when  the  ininde  should  be  taken  up  with  more  serious 
and  waighty  consideracons)  I  doe  therefore  now  in  my  health  make  ordaine 
&  declare  this  to  be  my  Last  Will  and  Testament  and  to  stand  and  to  be  as  ef- 
fectuall  as  if  I  had  made  it  in  my  sicknes,  or  in  the  day  or  houre  of  my 
death,  which  is  in  manner  and  forme  following 


This  being  p'missed  in  respect  of  my  soule  &  my  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  I 
doe  next  coinitt  my  body  to  tlie  earth  (&  to  comely  &  decent  burriall)  there 
to  rest  till  my  loveing  Savio'  by  his  Almighty  power  shall  raise  it  up  againe, 
at  which  time  I  confidently  beleive  it  shalbe  reunited  to  my  owne  soule,  and 
there  shall  receive  according  to  the  works  that  I  have  done  in  this  life  accord- 
ing as  they  have  beene  good  or  evill  in  the  sight  of  God,  or  according  to  that 
faith  and  confidence  that  I  have  in  the  free  grace  and  merits  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  As  for  my  Buriall  I  shall  not  desire  any  great  outward  solem- 
nitie  to  be  used  further  [120.]  then  that  which  shalbe  decent  &  civill  as  be- 
comes Christians  knowing  that  extraordinary  solemnities  can  nothing  add  to 
the  peace  or  benefit  of  the  deceased,  yet  haveing  beene  trayned  up  in  Millitary 
Discipline  from  my  young'  yeares,  &  haveing  endeavoured  to  promote  it 
the  best  I  could  since  God  hath  brought  me  into  this  country  &  seeing  he 
hath  beene  pleased  to  use  me  its  a  poore  instrument  to  lay  y  foundation  of 
that  Noble  Society  of  the  Artillery  Company  in  this  place,  that  hath  so  farr 
prospered  by  the  blessing  of  God  as  to  helpe  many  with  good  experience  in 
the  use  ^of  theire  Amies  &  more  exact  knowledge  in  the  Millitary  Art  & 
hath  beene  a  nursery  to  raise  up  many  able  and  well  experienced  souldiers 
that  hath  done  since  good  service  for  their  country,  therefore  to  declare  my 
affections  to  that  exercise  &  the  society  of  souldiers,  I  shall  desire  to  be 
buryed  as  a  souldier  in  a  Millitary  way,  if  the  time  &  place  of  my  death  and 
other  occasions  may  suite  thereunto  which  I  leave  to  the  discretion  of  my 
executors  and  friends 

As  for  the  goods  of  this  life  which  the  Lord  of  his  aboundant  mercy,  his 
rich  &  undeserved  favo''  hath  bestowed  &  reserved  to  me  the  greatest  of  sin- 
ners and  the  unworthyest  of  all  his  servants  I  dispose  of  in  manner  following 


These  thirds  for  my  wife  being  p'messed  &  my  tfunnerall  charges  &  debts 
being  provided  for  as  I  have  before  mentioned    The  rest  of  my  whole  estate 


164  OLD   STATE  HOJJSE   RE-DEDICATION. 


both  personnall  &  reall  with  my  lands  housing  &  all  other  things  belonging 
to  my  estate  I  devide  into  two  parts,  the  one  part  whereof  I  give  and  be- 
queath unto  my  welHeloved  &  only  son  Benjamin  Keayne,  the  other  part  of 
my  estate,  I  meane  the  just  or  due  value  of  it  I  reserve  as  my  owne  right  to 
dispose  of  as  I  please  which  is  as  herein  shall  after  be  expressed. 

********** 

I  haveing  long  thought  &  considered  of  the  want  of  some  necessary  things 
of  publike  concernment  which  may  not  be  only  coraodious  but  very 
profitable  &  usefutlfor  the  Towno  of  IJoston,  as  a  Marketplace  &Cundit,  the 
one  a  good  helpe  in  danger  of  fyrc,  the  want  of  which  wee  have  found  by  sad 
&  costly  experience  not  only  in  other  parts  of  the  towne  where  possibly  they 
have  better  supply  for  water  but  in  tlie  heart  of  the  towne  about  the  market 
place,  the  other  usefuU  for  the  country  people  that  come  with  theire  pro- 
visions for  the  supply  of  the  towne,  that  they  may  have  a  place  to  sitt  dry  in 
and  warme  both  in  cold  raine  &  durty  weatlier  &  may  have  a  place  to  leave 
theire  come  or  any  other  things  safe  that  they  cannot  sell,  till  they  come 
againe,  which  would  be  both  an  incourageraent  to  tlie  country  to  come  in  & 
a  great  meanes  to  increase  trading  in  the  [1125.]  Towne  also,  to  have  some 
convenient  roome  or  too  for  the  Courts  to  meete  in  both  in  Winter  &  Sumer 
&  so  for  the  Townes  men  &  Comissio''*  of  the  Towne,  also  in  the  same 
building  or  the  like  there  may  be  a  convenient  roome  for  a  Library  &  a 
gallery  or  some  other  handsome  roome  for  the  Elders  to  meete  in  &  conferr 
together  when  they  have  occasion  to  come  to  the  towne  for  any  such  ende,  as 
I  perceive  they  have  many,  Tlien  in  the  same  building  there  may  be  also  a 
roome  for  an  Armory  to  keepe  the  Amies  of  the  Artillery  Company  &.  for  the 
Souldiers  to  meete  in  when  they  have  occasion.  Now  if  it  should  not  be 
thought  convenient  by  the  Elders  &  Deacons  or  guids  of  the  towne  that  all 
these  conveniencyes  should  be  under  one  roofe  or  in  one  place  of  the  towne 
or  that  there  be  some  places  already  built  that  may  conveniently  be  used  or 
fitted  up  with  smale  cost  for  some  of  these  purposes,  as  in  the  Meeting  House 
for  a  Granere  or  Armory  &  other  places  in  it  for  the  Magistrates  &  Comissio™ 
to  meete  in  as  they  doe  sometimes,  it  is  true  in  the  sumer  they  may,  in  the 
Winter  they  cannot  for  want  of  chimneyes  &  fyres,  but  it  would  be  necessary 
&  more  convenient  (And  the  Towno  hath  beene  often  speaking  about  it,  to 
have  such  a  building  for  such  uses  though  yet  it  hath  not  beene  accomplished) 
if  there  were  a  place  fitted  on  purpose  &  set  apart  for  such  publike  uses,  and  if 
advice  were  taken  with  some  skilfuU  &  ingenious  workmen  &  some  others  that 
have  good  heads  in  contriving  of  buildings  such  as  Mr.  Broughton,  Mr. 
Clarke,  the  Chirirgion  &c.  there  might  such  a  model  be  drawne  up  that  one 
fabricke  or  building  may  [126.]  be  easily  contrived  that  would  conveniently 
accomodate  all  these  uses,  without  extraordinary  cost  &  yet  may  be  so  done 
as  would  be  a  great  ornament  to  tlie  towne  as  well  as  usefull  &  profitable 
otherwayes  but  if  the  cheife  of  the  towne  should  be  of  anoth'  minde,  then  I 
should  propose  this,  that  the  cundit  &  Markett  House  be  sett  in  the  market  place 
somewhere  betweene  M"'  Cogins  house  &  mine  or  any  where  in  that  great 
streete  betweene  M'.  Parkers  House  &  M'.  Brentons  or  rather  M'.  Webb's  if  it 
should  be  judged  there  to  be  more  convenient,  these  two  may  handsomely  be 
contrived  in  one  building  in  w='>  possibly  may  be  some  other  convenient 
roomes  fitt  for  some  of  the  uses  before  mentioned  besides  &  for  those  which 
that  place  cannot  supply,  as  for  a  Library  &  for  a  Gallere  or  Long  Roome 
for  the  Devines  &  Scholiers  to  meete  &  conferr  togeather  upon  any  occasion 
it  may  be  contrived  to  be  sett  all  along  on  the  foreside  of  the  Meeting  house 
joyning  to  it  on  the  one  side  and  the  other  side  to  be  supported  with  pillars  so 
the  roomes  about  may  be  for  Court  meetings  at  the  one  side  &  the  Elders  at 
the  other  &  the  open  roome  betweene  the  pillars  may  serve  for  Merchants, 
M'  of  Shipps  and  strangers  as  well  as  the  towne  (being  either  paled  or  horded 
on  the  ground)  to  meete  in  at  all  times  to  conferr  about  there  busines  & 
occasions  w^''  I  conceive  would  be  very  advantagius  to  the  towne  &  may  be  so 


APPENDIX    I.  165 


contrived  &  sett  forth  y' will  bene  disgrace  or  incumbrance  to  the  mcctins  house 
buta  great  ornament  to  it,  but  ifit  should  be  thoiiglit  not  convenient  to  have  it  in 
the  front  of  the  Meeting  [l;i7.]  House,  it  may  accomplish  the  same  ends,  if 
placed  on  that  side  of  the  Meeting  House  from  Seargeant  Williams  shop  to 
Deacon  Trusdalls  house,  or  if  a  building  placed  in  one  of  these  two  places 
may  accomplish  all  the  ends  before  menconed  save  only  the  Cunditt  then  a 
large  Cundit  may  be  sett  up  alone,  about  the  place  where  the  Pillary  stands 
&  the  other  about  the  meeting  house  as  before  W"  I  leave  to  the  best  con- 
trivement  of  the  towne  &  the  Elders  &  Deacons  w'''  building  or  buildings  if 
the  towne  sliall  thinke  meete  to  goe  about  it  &  improve  tlieni  for  tlic  severall 
uses  before  mentioned,  only  the  Granere  may  be  in  any  other  place  of  the 
towne  as  shalbe  thought  convenient,  I  stand  not  upon  that  though  my  owne 
judgement  leads  me  to  thinke  that  some  places  or  place  about  the  C'omon 
Market  or  near  to  it  wilbe  most  suitable  for  many  reasons.  I  say  towards  the 
building  of  these  convenient  places. 

Item  I  give  and  bequeath  three  hundreth  pounds  in  good  merchantable 
pay  the  one  third  part  thereof  when  the  frame  is  brought  to  the  place  & 
raysed  or  some  part  of  it  before  when  the  frame  is  in  some  forwardness  if 
neede  be,  the  seconde  part  when  the  ehinmeyes  are  built,  the  house  covered 
and  closed  in  round  and  all  the  Hoores  layd,  and  the  last  third  part  when  it 
is  quite  finished,  provided  that  it  be  gone  about  and  finished  within  two  or 
three  yeares  at  the  most  after  my  decease,  and  if  any  of  these  either  a  Cundet 
or  Markett  House  should  be  sett  up  before  my  death,  by  the  towne  or  any 
other  in  the  place  or  places  above  mentioned,  then  my  gift  shall  rcmaine 
good  either  for  some  addition  to  the  same  worke  or  for  the  accomplisliing  of 
those  other  workes  by  me  mentioned  that  are  not  done  by  others,  with  a  re- 
bating proportionable  to  what  [lii8.]  is  or  shallie  before  done  by  the  towne 
or  any  other  Pson,  Now  that  tbese  things  may  not  be  only  for  a  show  or  a 
name  &  when  flnislied  prove  as  shaddowes  c&  stand  as  emptie  roomos  without 
substance  that  they  may  be  improved  for  the  uses  that  I  ayme  at  &  intend 
though  my  estate  is  not  such  as  whereby  I  am  able  to  doe  what  I  desire  & 
would  be  willing  to  doe  if  I  had  it,  for  such  publike  benefitt,  yet  for  e.xamples 
sake  &  encouragement  of  others  (especially  of  our  owne  towne  w*  will 
have  the  benefitt  of  it)  &  such  in  the  towne  that  have  publike  spirits  &  some 
comfortable  estates  to  helpe  on  such  workes  I  shalbe  willing  to  cast  in  my 
mite  &  bring  my  lime  &  hare  possibly  God  may  stirr  up  the  hearts  of  others 
to  bring  in  their  Badger  skines  &  silke  &  others  more  costly  things  that  the 
worke  may  goe  on  &  prosper  in  so  sniale  a  beginning 

Therefore  to  the  Granere  I  give  and  bequeath  One  hundred  pounds  to  be 
payd  in  Come  and  that  to  be  improved  for  a  publike  stocke  to  such  uses  & 
ends  as  I  shall  hereafter  mention 

Next  the  Library  &  Gallere  for  Devines  &  SchoUers  to  meete  in  being 
finished 

I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  beginning  of  that  Library  my  3  great  writing 
bookes  W^'"  are  intended  as  an  Exposition  or  Interpretation  of  the  whole 
Bible,  .as  also  a  •!"'  great  writing  booke  in  which  is  an  exposition  on  the 
Prophecy  of  Daniel  of  the  Revelations  &  the  Prophecy  of  Hosea  not  long  since 
began,  all  which  Bookes  are  written  with  my  owne  hand  so  farr  as  they  be 
writt  &  could  desier  that  some  able  scholler  or  two  that  is  active  and  dilli- 
gent  &  addicted  to  reading  and  writing  were  ordered  to  carry  on  the  same 
worke  by  degrees  as  they  have  leasure  and  opportunitie  &  in  the  same 
methode  and  way  as  I  have  begun  (if  a  better  be  not  advised  to)  at  least  if 
[129.]  it  shalbe  esteemed  for  the  ])rofitt  of  it  to  young  students  (though 
not  so  to  more  able  and  learned  Devines  in  these  knowing  times)  worth  the 
labo''  as  I  have  &  doe  finde  it  to  my  selfe^orth  all  the  paines  &  labour  I 
have  bestowed  upon  them,  so  that  if  I  had  100"'  l.ayd  me  downe  for  them,  to 
deprive  me  of  them,  till  my  sight  or  life  should  be  taken  from  me  I  should 
not  part  from  them 


166  OLD   STATE   HOUSE   RE-DEDICATION. 

And  because  I  perceive  that  the  Elders  of  the  neigboMng  townes  have  ap- 
pointed certaine  times  in  y<^  yeare  as  cheifly  in  Sumer  time  once  a  moneth  to 
meete  together  to  confirr  about  ordering  things  in  the  Churches  according  to 
God  &  to  debate  aliout  doubts  or  dithcult  questions  that  may  arise,  in  matters  of 
religion  and  such  like  and  that  they  Inive  noe  place  to  meete  in,  but  at  one  of 
our  Elders  houses  nor  nothing  to  refresh  themselves  withbut  ofthem  w<:'>  may 
prove  too  great  a  burtlien  to  our  Elders  (the  meetings  being  so  often  and  eon- 
tinueing  constant)  to  bcare  of  theire  owne  charge  besides  otiier  burthens  &  in- 
conveniences they  may  undergoe  Therefore  the  roome  before  mentioned  be- 
ing fitted  y'  they  may  meete  when  they  please  thereat  I  doe  will  and  bequeath 
fower  pounds  a  yeare  to  be  payd  out  of  some  of  my  shops  in  Boston  by 
quarterly  payments  w=''  may  be  ordered  and  disposed  as  the  Eld"  shall  direct 
or  advise  to  provide  some  refreshing  for  them  when  they  meete  or  now  and 
then  dinn'*  as  farr  as  it  will  goe  .St  as  themselves  shalbe  pleased  to  husband 
it,  not  that  I  would  put  upon  my  Executor  the  care  of  such  provisions  or  of 
buying  or  dressing  the  meate,  but  that  he  should  appointe  w<:''  shop  should  pay 
them  so  much  &  then  they  may  appointe  a  steward  of  theire  owne  to  receive 
the  pay  every  quarter  &  then  they  to  direct  how  it  shalbe  layd  out  or  dis- 
posed of  for  that  ende  to  there  owne  content,  only  1  would  p'misse  this  if 
there  meeting  be  only  in  the  Sumer  &  not  in  the  Winter  as  I  conceive  then  my 
will  is  that  they  should  receive  this  fower  [l;}l.]  pounds  every  Sumer,  by 
forty  shillings  a  quarter  as  that  which  wilhe  most  convenient  for  there  meet- 
ing, and  this  gift  of  fower  poumls  p  anno  I  give  for  the  space  of  Ten  yeares 
from  the  time  of  my  death,  if  that  meeting  continue  so  long  in  that  towne, 
hoping  that  before  then  some  other  may  be  moved  to  step  in  &  to  add  so  much 
more  to  it  as  may  serve  to  provide  a  moderate  dinner  for  every  time  of  there 
meeting  so  that  noe  part  of  the  charge  of  it  may  lye  upon  themselves  and 
when  the  lu  yeares  is  ended  I  doubt  not  if  my  son  be  then  liveinghere  (&my 
buildings  continue  as  now,  that  he  would  continue  this  gift  of  myne  longer  if 
that  meeting  continue  longer  &  proves  by  experience  to  be  much  for  the  good 
and  advantage  of  religion  &  the  churches  as  is  intended  &  not  to  the  hurt  & 
pijudice  of  the  same 

And  if  a  convenient  fayre  roome  in  one  of  the  buildings  before  mentioned 
be  sequestered  &  set  a  part  for  an  Armory  &  the  meeting  of  the  Artillery  if 
there  it  be  thought  convenient  or  if  some  other  place  be  provided  for  that  use 
more  convenient,  with  the  Officers  of  that  Companys  advice,  I  am  not  strict 
for  the  very  place  so  they  h.ave  content  in  it,  though  yet  I  thinke  the  very 
hart  &  securest  part  of  the  towne  (&  noe  out  or  by  place)  is  the  most  fitt  for 
a  Magazene  for  Armes  because  of  the  danger  of  surprizing  of  them,  the  place 
that  they  now  use  wilbe  fitt,  to  scower  &  tend  the  Armes  in  et  the  other  to  lay 
them  up  &  keepe  them  in,  which  wilbe  a  comely  sight  for  straingers  to  see  & 
a  great  ornament  to  the  roome  &  also  to  the  towne  where  [132.]  the  soul- 
diers  may  arme  themselves  every  time  they  goe  to  exercise,  such  a  place  be- 
ing provided  I  give  &  bequeath  five  pounds  for  the  incouragem'  of  that  Com- 
pany to  be  layd  out  in  Pikes  &  Bandal'"  for  the  use  of  such  souldiers  of  that 
Company  that  live  in  othcrtownes,  so  farr  as  it  cannot  be  convenient  for  them 
to  bring  there  armes  w"'  them,  or  if  the  Officers  of  that  Company  doe  know 
any  other  thinge  that  the  Company  wants  that  wilbe  more  usefuU  for  the  gen- 
nerall  good  of  the  Company  then  what  I  have  mentioned  that  will  continue 
&  not  be  spent  or  consumed  in  the  use,  then  I  am  willing  that  the  whole 
or  any  part  of  this  legacy  may  be  so  disposed  of  takeing  in  the  advice  and 
consent  of  my  Executor  in  the  same. 

********** 
********** 
Now  concerning  the  originall  legacy  of  Three  hundred  pounds  that  I  have 
given  to  the  Towne  of  Boston  for  the  raysing  of  a  Cundit  in  the  Market 
place  &  for  a  building  to  fitt  for  such  uses  as  I  have  before  mentioned,  if  any 
shall  alleadge  that  three  hundred  pounds  is  not  sufficient  to  accomplish  it  I 
answ'.     1.    That  it  may  be  some  of  these  may  be  gone  about  &  finished  by 


APPENDIX     I.  1( 


)i 


y'=  Towne  before  God  may  call  me  out  of  this  world  as  y"  Cundot  or  in^kct 
house  &c.  &  tlien  there  willic  the  lesse  to  doe  and  I  know  tliat  the  Towne 
hath  ajiitated  it  &  seriously  intended  to  have  gone  al)out  to  doe  tliem  all  ex- 
cept only  y<^  library,  as  such  tbintfs  that  arc  needfull  &  will  tnrne  to  the 
pubiikc  advantage  of  the  Towne.  2'>'.  I  say  that  I  conceive  if  it  be  well 
managed  &  ordered  it  may  doe  it  all  or  very  neare  it.  I  suppose  one  of  the 
two  last  houses  that  I  built  hath  roome  enough  in  it  to  accomplish  all  the 
ends  before  mentioned  excepting  the  Cundit,  if  it  had  beene  first  contrived 
&  thought  on  for  such  an  ende,  yet  that  hath  not  cost  me  400"'.  not  by  so 
much  as  I  suppose  [1-40.]  will  neare  build  a  new  Condit,  but  Thirdly  if  it 
shouhl  fall  short  I  doe  expect  &  suppose  that  the  Towne  wilbc  willing  to  add 
to  it  &  make  up  the  rest  either  by  enlarging  of  the  Conveuiencyes  or  beauti- 
fying tlie  structure  for  the  better  ornament  of  the  towne  &  possibly  some 
else  may  thinke  of  some  other  thing  wantinsr,  that  may  be  as  usefull  to  the 
genn^ali  good  of  the  towne  as  most  of  these  to  be  added  to  it,  w=''  I  have  not 
thought  upon,  besides  if  I  were  about  to  build  a  thinge  that  I  conceive  would 
be  very  usefull  .&  advantagious  to  me  but  am  not  eomlbrtably  able  to  beare 
the  charge  of  it,  if  any  freind  out  of  love  to  me  would  lend  me  SOO"*.  some 
considerable  time  gratise  it  would  be  a  great  incouragement  to  me  to  goe  on 
with  the  worke,  but  if  he  should  offer  to  give  me  freely  300"'.  towards  it  I 
should  think  my  selfe  bound  to  be  very  thankefull  to  him  and  to  be  willing 
to  make  up  what  is  wanting  rather  then  I  would  loose  so  free  a  kindnes  by  my 
neglecting  of  the  worke. 

But  possibly  some  wilbc  ready  to  apprehend  that  I  may  doe  this  only  for 
my  owne  endcs  &  benefitt  w'''  may  make  them  the  more  backward  to  have  it 
goe  on  especially  with  any  of  there  owne  Cost,  for  some  such  spiritts  there 
be  that  had  rather  deny  themselves  a  benefitt  then  that  anotlier  should  cnjoye 
a  greater  benefitt  by  it,  as  some  have  said  that  I  have  beene  very  forward  to 
have  a  Cundit  in  y'  place  because  I  have  so  many  houses  &  buildings  there 
about  &  so  a  Market  House  [141.]  wilbe  more  the  beneficiall  to  bring  trade 
to  my  shops.  I  answ''  putt  case  that  this  were  in  all  things  true,  it  is  not  sine- 
full  nor  unlawfuU  in  Christian  prudence  to  pvide  meanes  for  the  p''venting 
of  danger  or  procureing  ot  any  lawfull  good,  I  doubt  not  but  they  would  doe 
the  like  if  it  were  there  owne  case.  But  S*"-*'  what  advantage  will  this  be 
to  me  when  I  am  dead  ami  gone,  if  others  should  not  receive  more  benefitt 
then  I  by  it  I  need  not  tronlde  my  selfe  with  what  may  fall  out  in  after  times, 
in  these  respects  for  I  shall  feele  no  want,  nor  sutt'er  any  damage  by  such 
losses  &  a  100  things  would  come  into  consideration  as  needfull  to  p'vent 
or  provide  for  as  these,  if  men  goeing  out  of  the  world  should  trouble  them- 
selves with  the  care  of  such  changes  and  things  that  may  happen  when  they 
are  dead  3'"-^  If  my  housen  only  were  there  &  no  other  shops  but  myne, 
there  might  be  more  ground  for  such  an  apprehension,  but  it  is  the  heart  of 
the  towne  and  many  fayre  buildings  &  shops  there  be  round  about,  the 
Market  is  there  seated  allready.  the  Market  house  is  more  for  the  convenicney 
of  Strang™  &  there  accomodation  in  winter  and  sumer  in  wet  &  dry  there  for 
the  inhabitants  of  the  towne  &  in  that  respect  it  is  a  worke  of  cliaritie  and 
mercy  and  though  some  pticular  psons  that  trade  may  have  more  benefitt 
by  it  then  some  other  ]isous  that  dwell  further  off,  yet  the  advantage  & 
profitt  of  it  will  redound  to  the  whole  towne  in  genn^all  and  for  my  owne 
pticular  I  haveing  given  over  trade  [142.]  long  agoe)  the  nearenes  of  the 
market  is  more  chargeable  then  beneficiall  to  me,  if  I  looked  not  at 
a  genn^all  &  publike  good,  more  then  ray  private  &  for  the  Cunditt  I  confesse 
it  is  very  necessary  &  usefull  in  many  respects,  especially  in  danger  of  fyre 
&  well  it  were  if  there  were  more  of  them  in  the  towne  then  there  is,  but 
that  it  wilbe  more  beneficiall  to  me  or  that  I  shall  have  more  nCede  of  it  then 
others  who  can  tell,  who  knowes  y'  my  house  alone  shalbe  sett  on  fyre,  God 
may  p'serve  myne  though  divers  others  may  be  consumed,  as  it  fell  out  lately 
by  sad  experience,  had  there  beene  a  Condit  in  the  Market  place  before,  then 
would  it  not  have  beene  looked  at  &  found  to  be  a  pubiikc  good,  might  not 


168  OLD   STATE   HOUSE  RE-DEDICATION. 


some  of  the  houses  beene  saved  that  were  consumed  more  worth  then  the 
charge  of  setting  up  three  or  fower  such  Conditts,  nay  if  the  fyre  had  gone 
on  in  its  rage  as  it  was  most  lilcc  (had  not  God  in  unexpected  mercy 
p''vented  it)  &  ceased  upon  others  houses  as  it  threatened  to  doe,  the  whole 
towne  would  have  had  cause  to  thinke  &  to  have  bewailed  the  want  of  it) 
that  such  a  Conditt  was  a  publique  good  &  the  want  of  it  a  publique  evill 
though  some  pticular  psons  might  have  had  the  beneflte  of  it  at  that  time 
more  then  others,  and  at  some  other  times  others  might  have  had  more  neede 
&  more  benefitt  by  it  then  they  but  if  my  houses  &  shopes  stoode  alone  or 
if  I  only  should  need  &  not  others,  if  it  were  for  my  owne  private  &  not  for 
the  publique  good  of  others,  I  would  build  a  Condit  &  a  Market  house  too  if 
there  were  neede  [143.]  at  ray  owne  charge  without  calling  in  the  heli)eof 
others  &  I  thinke  if  my  owne  heart  deceive  me  not,  my  ayme  in  all  these 
things  proposed  is  for  the  genn''all  good  of  the  towne  &  that  if  I  had  noe 
house  thereabouts  but  had  lived  in  some  other  part  of  the  towne,  I  should  be 
as  forward  to  promote  these  workes  as  I  have  beene'formerly  or  am  at  this 
p'sent,  so  I  should  desire  all  my  loveing  brethren  &  neighbo'^  of  the  towne 
to  interp"^  &  accept  of  what  I  tender  to  them,  as  a  fruite  of  my  true  endeavo'' 
&  desire  of  the  townes  good  &  not  at  any  private  advantage  of  me  or  myne  & 
as  one  y'  have  beene  willing  &  desireous  to  helpe  them  forward  in  my  life- 
time rather  then  death,  And  for  that  legacy  of  one  Imndreth  pound  before 
mentioned  for  y"  Grannere  to  begin  a  stocke  for  a  publique  magzine  of 
Corne  for  the  towne  or  cheifely  the  poorer  sort  in  it,  now  what  private  ends 
or  advantage  can  anj'  one  apprehend  I  can  have  in  that  when  I  am  dead  &  so 
for  the  library  &  armory  &  Plattforme  &  Butt  for  the  incou^agem'  of  the 
Artillery  Company  &  or  free  schoole  or  what  I  had  set  apart  form''ly  for  the 
trayning  up  of  tlie  Indians  Children  in  learning  &  some  English  schoU'*  to 
learne  the  Indian  Tongue,  now  if  these  cannot  but  be  interp'ted  for  a  pub- 
lique and  genn'all  good  to  the  towne  why  sliouUl  any  conceive  otherwise  of 
the  other,  for  the  Conditt  there  is  none  in  the  markett  place  &  if  such  a 
worke  be  needfuU  in  any  p'.  of  the  towne,  it  is  5  times  more  needfuU  there 
[144:.]  &  so  for  the  market  house  except  there  were  more  publique  markets 
set  up  in  some  othere  p^.  of  the  towne  c&  though  God  hath  beene  pleased  in 
some  measure  to  carry  me  on  with  a  publique  spirit  to  seeke  the  good  of  the 
towne  according  to  that  abillity  which  God  hath  beene  pleased  to  afibrd 
unto  me  though  I  am  not  able  to  doe  according  to  the  largenes  of  my  desire 
hopeing  that  God  will  raise  up  some  others  after  me,  of  abler  estates  & 
opener  hearts  &  hands  to  add  larger  additions  to  these  weake  beginnings  or 
to  begin  some  others  that  mav  be  more  usefuU  then  these. 


And  for  the  Three  hundred  pounds  which  I  have  given  to  the  Towne  of 
Boston  to  build  a  Condit,  a  Market  house  &  Towne  house  with  a  Library 
Grannere  &  Armore,  as  I  have  before  mentioned  if  tlie  towne  of  Boston 
shall  slight  or  undervalue  this  gift  or  my  good  will  to  them  therein  &  shall 
refuse  or  neglect  to  goe  about  &  finish  "these  sev'all  buildings  in  manner  & 
time  before  mentioned  rather  then  they  wilbe  troubled  with  it,  or  add  any- 
thing of  theire  owne  for  the  finisheing  of  it,  then  my  will  is  that  this  gift  of 
300"'.  given  to  Boston  for  the  uses  of  those  buildings  before  mentioned  shall 
utterly  cease  and  become  voyd  in  respect  of  Boston  &  those  giftes  tliat  I  have 
given  with  relation  to  those  buildings  as  my  Bookes  to  the  Library  &.'.  or  any 
others  of  them  that  I  have  [153.]  not  before  provided  for  &  ordered  shalbe  & 
remaine  to  the  sole  use  of  the  CoUidge  at  Cambridge  in  the  same  manner 
that  I  have  ordered  the  former  120"'.  in  Corne  for  the  poore  in  Boston,  in 
case  the  Deacons  or  Towne  shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  give  security  for  the 
principall  stocke  as  before  is  mentioned. 

My  true  meaning  herein  is  this  that  if  the  Towne  of  Boston  shall  sett 
upon  one  or  two  of  these  workes  &  neglect  or  refusetocarry  on  therest  (or  some 
of  the  other  that  I  have  mentioned  happely  being  done  by  the  Towne  before 


APPENDIX     I.  Kit) 


I  dye)  as  if  tliey  sliuuUl  build  only  tlio  Coiidit  ^^  Jlai-kc-t  liuuse  &  not  a  Towiics 
house  or  Library  &  Gallere  or  a  Graniierc  &  Arniore  &  not  a  Gondii  or 
Market  house  &".  then  my  will  is  that  my  executo''  shall  give  only  such  a 
proportion  of  this  Three  luindreth  pounds  as  that  worke  or  builiiin;;  shall 
come  too,  w*  they  set  upon  only  in  relation  to  this  gift  of  myne,  compared 
with  the  value  of  the  other  buildings  that  I  have  likewise  mentioned  but  they 
have  left  undone  &  that  what  upon  that  account  shalbe  reserved  of  the  .'iOO"'. 
shalbe  for  the  use  of  the  CoUidge  of  Cambridge,  as  I  have  given  the  whole 
300"'.  in  case  the  refuse  or  neglect  to  finish  all  those  buildings  or  any  of 
them  within  two  or  three  yeares  after  my  death  as  before  I  have  ordered. 
*  *  *  *'*'*  *  *  *  if 

********** 

And  concerning  my  bookes  that  I  have  given  to  begin  the  Library  with  all 
in  Boston,  my  will  is  that  my  brother  Willson  &  M'  Norton  Eld™  at  Boston 
or  the  teaching  Eld"  that  shall  at  the  time  of  my  death  (after  my  wife  and 
son  Benjamine  have  made  choyce  of  some  bookes  for  theire  owne  use  as  I 
have  before  expressed)  may  be  requested  to  take  paines  to  view  over  the  rest 
of  my  bookes  &  such  as  they  shall  judge  fitt  for  that  use  to  take  a  pticul'  note 
or  inventory  of  them  &  so  to  take  them  into  there  owne  keeping  or  to  leave 
them  with  my  executo''  if  they  will,  till  the  time  mentioned  in  this  will  be  ac- 
complished, that  if  the  towne  of  Boston  should  not  within  three  yeares  after 
my  death  build  a  handsome  roome  for  a  Library  &  anoth"'  for  the  Eldf*  & 
Scholl'*  to  walke  &  mecte  in,  as  before  I  have  expressed,  that  then  they  may 
[157.]  be  delivered  to  the  President  or  some  of  the  Overseers  of  Herbert 
CoUidge  in  Cambridge  to  be  placed  as  my  gift  or  addition  to  that  Library  that 
is  already  begun  there. 

********** 
********** 

Tlieref ore  I  doe  here  againe  declare  all  that  wliich  is  contained  before  in  nine 
shectes  of  paper  writtwith  my  owne  hand  in  all  the  sides  thereof  &  more  par- 
ticularly expressed  in  the  36  page  y^  of  with  all  that  is  added  to  it  in  this  page 
37  to  be  my  last  Will  &  Testament  &  my  son  M.ijor  Benjamine  Keayne  to 
be  sole  executor  thereof  &  my  loveing  freinds  mentioned  in  the  lower  ende 
of  page  36  to  be  the  overseers  of  it. 

In  Wittnes  whereof  as  there  so  here  againe  I  have  putt  to  my  hand  &  scale 
in  the  p'sence  of  these  whose  names  c&  handes  are  hereunder  written  this 
December  28,  1653 

Robert  Keayne  &  a  scale 

John  Willson  Edw  Ting 

RiCHAKD  Parker  Robt  Hull 

Edw  Efletcher 

[274.]  Att  a  County  Court  held  at  Boston  2d  of  May  1656 
M''.  John  Wilson  Sen.  M''.  Richard  Parker  &  M'.  Edward  Tyng  deposed  before 
the  Court  tliat  Cap'  Robert  Keayne  at  y«  times  metitoned  in  the  thirty  sixt 
page  &  thirty  seventh  pag.  did  call  them  in  and  declared  these  nine  sheets  of 
paper  &  one  page  to  be  his  last  will  &  testament  &  sawe  him  signe  and  scale 
the  same  &  y'  they  know  of  no  other  will  W^^  was  approved  of  by  y'  Court  as 
attests 

Edward  Rawson  Recorder 

[In  Margin,  page  273.] 

At  a  County  Court  for  Suffolke  held  at  Boston 

aO'"  Janur"  A"  1683 
The  Executo'''  within  nominated  of  the  last  will  of  Capf  Robert  Keyne 
sometime  of  Boston  dece''  hereto  annexed  being  both  dead !  Power  of 
Adra^'i  of  y"-'  estate  of  s''  Cap"''  Keyne  is  granted  unto  M''  Nicholas  Paige  and 
Anna  his  wife  Grand  daughf  of  s'^  Robert  Keyne  to  pursue  the  performance 
of  his  will  in  what  remains  to  be  done  therein,  they  to  give  Bond  of  one 
thousand  pounds  to  execute  the  same,  their  own  bond  being  accepted  by  y" 
Court  is  accordingly  taken 

Attest  Is-^  Addington  Cl^^ 


INDEX 


I  N  D  ]^:  X 


Acts,  published,  42. 

Adams,  Jolin,  70,71,  85. 

Adams,  Siimucl,  7-t,  84. 

Andros,  Sir  E.,  35,  ."57. 

Armory,  53,  164,  106,  1G9. 

Arms,  Colony  and  Royal,  61,  64,  95. 

destroyed,  93,  144. 
Artillery  Co.,  Ancient  and  Honorable, 
27,  41,  163,  168. 

Badger,  Commodore,  121. 

Balcony  or  gallery,  35,  40,  43,  50,  53, 

64,  65,  90,  92,  94. 
Boston  Gazette,  93. 
Boston  Magazine,  94. 
Bowdoin,  Gov.  James,  94. 
Bowen,  Picture  of  Boston,  103,  107. 
Brazer's  building,  23,  24,  25. 
British  Coffee  House,  80. 
Bunker  Hill,  battle  of,  91. 

Cadets,  corps  of,  56,  90. 
Castle,  the,  56,  86. 
Cellars,  31. 

Chantrey,  statue  by,  105. 
Chimneys,  54. 
Church,  Old  Brick,  92. 

Old  South,  69,  84. 
City  Hall,  104,  107.  147,  153. 
Clerk,  town,  53,  66. 

of  the  House,  75. 
Clock,  town,  53. 
Closet,  48. 
Codfish,  the,  61,  64. 
Commissioners,  27. 
Conduit,  27,  33,  34,  165-169. 
Congress,  90. 

Council-chamber,   40,   43,  45,    47,    49, 
50,  57,  61,  70,  79. 


Court,  General,  27,  30,  37,  42,  164. 

Supreme,  37,  43,  49,  80. 
Court  House,  Stone,  105,  147. 

new,  149. 

Lcvcrett  St.,  151. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  92. 
Deputies,  number  of,  51. 
Deshon,  Moses,  carver,  61. 
Desk,  Speaker's,  62. 
Dial,  53. 
Dunton,  John,  31. 

Ellis,  Rev.  Rufus,  19. 
Engine,  fire,  61. 
Evacuation  of  Boston,  92. 
Exchange,  merchants',  32,  108. 

Faueuil,  arms  of,  146. 

Hall,  60,  66,   69,  77,  98,  104. 
144-147. 
Fires,  30,  34,  44,  57,  105,  109,  146. 
Fort  Hill,  35. 

Franquelin,  map  of  Boston,  33. 
Freemasons,  103,  104. 
French  troops  welcomed,  94. 
Funerals,  public,  50. 

Gage,  (iov.  Thomas,  90. 

Gallery  (see  Balcony),  62,  76,  88,  164, 

169. 
Garrison,  William  L.,  113. 
Goelet,  Capt.  Francis,  60. 
Governor,  messages  from,  52. 
Grammar-school  Inspectors,  49. 
Granary,  27,  165,  168. 
Gray's  ropewalk,  8 1 . 
Green,  Samuel,  A.,  address  by,  116. 
Green  chamber,  the,  53. 
Gridley,  Col.  Richard,  56. 


174 


INDEX. 


Hales'  Survey  of  Boston,  109. 

Half-square  Court,  25. 

Haucoek,  Gov.  John,  88,  90. 

Healths,  drinking  of,  42. 

Hersey,  Aid.  Charles  H.,  address  by, 

18. 
Howe,  Gen.,  91. 

Hutchinson,  Gov.  Thomas,  SO,  83,  8,5, 
88,  89. 
house  burnt,  73. 

Independence,  birth  of,  72. 

Joy,  Thomas,  builder,  30. 
Josselyn,  Thomas,  31. 

Keaync,  Capt.  Robert,  24,  2G,  27. 

founds  the  Town  House,  31. 

signature,  28. 

will,  163-109. 
Kidd,  Capt.  William,  tried,  40. 
Kuowles,  Commodore,  57. 

Leehford,  account  by,  26. 
Legislature,  at  Cambridge,  86,  88. 

at  Salem,  90. 

at  Watertown,  91,  93. 

returned  to  Boston,  93,  94, 
97. 
Lexington,  battle  of,  91. 
Liberty  tree,  73. 

Library,  town,  27,  33,  164,  165,  169. 
Limestone  found,  40. 
Lion  and  Unicorn,  64,  141,  144. 
Lobby,  43,  49. 
.  Long,  Gov.  John  D.,  121. 
Louisburg,  capture  of,  50,  55. 

Magazine,  the  public,  166. 
Market  House,  165,  167,  169. 

place,  24,  32,  164,  167,  168. 
Massachusetts  Magazine,  the,  63,  95. 

98, 
Meeting-house,  First,  25,  42,  44,   49, 

53,  81,  165. 
Model  of  Town  House,  28,  164. 
Molineaux.  William,  82. 

Keal,  Daniel,  description  by.  46. 


Old  South  Church,  69,  84. 
Old  State  House  (see  State  Mouse). 
Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  address  by.  111. 
Otis,  James,  70,  80. 

Painter's  bill  in  1773,  64. 

Pemberton,   Thomas,    description  by, 

97. 
Pepperrell,  Sir  William,  55,  56. 
Phips,  Sir  William,  38. 
Dame  Mary,  39. 
Pillars,  63,  164. 
Pillory,  the,  165. 

Population  of  Boston,  34,  38,  46,  54. 
Port  Bill,  the  Boston,  90. 
Portraits  mentioned,  18,  62,  65,  72,  85, 

91. 
Post  Office,  108. 
Pownal,  Gov.  Thomas,  68 
Pratt,  Chief  Justice,  70. 
Prayers,  public,  47. 
Press-gang,  trial  of,  79. 
Preston,  Capt.,  trial  of,  82. 
Prorogation,  42. 
Province  House,  the,  91. 

Quebec,  43. 
Queen  Anne,  41. 
Quelch,  Capt.  John,  42. 
Quincy,  Josiah,  Jr. ,  87. 

Re-dedication,  17. 
Registry  of  Deeds,  45. 
Representatives'  Hall,  37,  43,  52,   62, 

63,  95,  98. 
Revolution  of  1688,  35. 
Rogers,  Isaiah,  106. 
Royal  Exchange  Tavern,  60. 

Salmon,  Robert,  104,  109. 

Seal,  Colony,  142. 

Sewall,  Samuel,  extracts  from  diary  of, 

36,  37,  41,  42,  43,  46,  47,  48,  49,  50, 

51. 
Shaw's  History  of  Boston,  102. 
Shirley,  Gov.  William,  62. 
Shops,  32.  54,  ini. 
Siege  of  Boston,  91. 


INDEX. 


175 


Snyder,  Christopher,  killed,  81. 

Speaker,  51,  52. 

Stairway,  circular,  G2,  155. 

Stamp  Act  riots,  73,  75. 

State-street  riots,  81,  82. 

State  House,  old,  engravings  of ,  10, 11, 

12,  13. 
founded,  23. 
model,  28,  1G4. 
description   of    the   first, 

28,  29. 
paid  for,  30. 
tenants,  31,  32,  101,   103, 

104. 
head-quarters  against  An- 

dros,  35. 
used  by  Legislature,  37, 

94. 
council-chamber  in,  38. 
burnt  in  1711,  44. 
rebuilt,  45,  125,  129. 
arrangement  of,  47,  50. 
public  sales  at,  forbidden, 

52. 
repaired,  54. 
riot  against  press-gangs, 

57. 
burnt  in  1747,  58,  59,  60. 
rebuilt,  129,  141. 
described  in  1750  by  Goe- 

let,  fil. 
town  ofBces    in    Fanueil 

Hall,  60. 
described  in  1791,  63. 
refusal  to  clean,  67. 
described  by  John  Adams, 

70,  71. 
galleries  in,  76. 
troops  lodged  in,  78. 
injured  by  British  troops, 

91. 
used  by  the  State,  94. 
peace  proclaimed  at,  94. 
Hancock  installed  at,  94. 
Washington  received  at, 

95. 
described  in  1794,97. 


State  House,  sold  to  tlie  town,  99. 

described  in  1817,  102. 

described  in  1829,  103. 

injured  by  fire  in   1825, 
105. 

used  as  City  Hall,  107. 

described  in  1838,   107. 

fire  in  1832,  109. 

leased  by  the  city,  110. 

injured     liy     alterations, 
110. 

restored  in  1881,  110. 

new,  97. 
Subscribers  to  first  Town  House,  126, 
129. 

Table,  Council,  47. 
Tea  Party,  Boston,  89. 
Tenants,  101,  103,  104. 
Thanksgiving  Day,  1776,  94. 
Thompson  Family,  25. 
Topliff's  Newsroom,  108. 
Town   House,    168.      (See,  also,   State 
House.") 

first,  125,  126,127,128, 
129. 

rebuUt,  129,  141. 
Town  meetings,  46. 
Trials,  49. 

Triumphal  Arch,  95. 
Troops  removed,  86. 

Views,  engraved,  notice  of,  10,  11,  12, 

13. 
Voters,  26,  29,  42,  88. 

Waldo,  Gen,  Samuel,  56. 
Warren,  Admiral  Sir  Peter,  55,  66. 
Washburn,  William,  107. 
Washington,  George,  95. 

statue  of,  105. 
Watcrtown,  Legislature  at,  90. 
Whitmore,  William  H.,  address  by,  22, 
Wilder,  Marshall  P.,  address  by,  119. 
Willard,  Secretary,  letter  of,  59. 
Witehcr.aft,  trials,  39. 
Writs  of  Assistance,  70,  72. 


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